


Step by Step

by So_Ginelle



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, College, Dancing, Developing Relationship, Drama, Eating Disorders, Established Relationship, F/M, Graphic descriptions, Hospitals, I really am so sorry, I tried my best with a summary, It will be at least 23 chapters long, Kei has a troubled family life, Kei has an eating disorder, Love issues - Freeform, M/M, Multi, New Relationship, Performing Arts, Please Forgive me, Please ask before reading if you have questions, Purging, Sorry to all the Kurotsukki fans, There is so much to this story, This is definitely not going to be a short story, This story is very complex, Triggers, Tsukkiyama is end game here, University, Vomiting, Yams is better off but his past was definitely not good, again i am sorry, angsty, this is one of my favorite ships actually, triggering
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-25
Updated: 2019-04-19
Packaged: 2019-06-15 23:50:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 92,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15424377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/So_Ginelle/pseuds/So_Ginelle
Summary: Tsukishima Kei has always wanted to be a dancer. Unfortunately, his father doesn't approve. His mother, on the other hand, pays for his dance classes secretly and tells Tsukki to follow his dreams. The story starts in Tsukishima's first semester at a performing arts academy. His life hasn't been easy since telling his parents he wanted to pursue dance and his father became neglectful and abusive, causing Kei to develop an eating disorder to cope. In his first semester, Kei meets Yamaguchi Tadashi, a boy whom he did not think was all that special and he hated until he got to know him. Drama ensues and the semester happens, but luckily for Kei, he has his best friends Oikawa and Sugawara to lean on for help and support when things get bad and the going gets rough. He just hopes that he can survive his first semester now.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The first part of the story is the prologue, then it goes into the first chapter.
> 
> If you have ANY sensitivities to the descriptions of bodily functions, please do not read this and turn around. I do describe vomit in this story.
> 
> Also, this fic is very complex and I'm rather impressed with myself for coming up with such a bold and long story. If you have any questions, please ask me.
> 
> DISCLAIMER:  
> I only know things about eating disorders through reading and studying them. I do not have first hand knowledge. If I get anything wrong, please, tell me, and I will do my best to fix it.
> 
> SECOND DISCLAIMER:  
> I only know what I’ve seen on SYTYCD and Dancing With The Stars, as far as my dance knowledge goes. I do not claim to know anything about dance. If I get something wrong there as well, please feel free to tell me and I will absolutely fix it. Thank you kindly.

_Prologue_

The feeling was consistent, Tsukishima thinks in his head. At the very least, it never seemed to go away with him, except on very rare occasions. Unfortunately, this was not one of those moments.

To him, the feeling was soothing. To others, not so much. But in his mind, it was something he could control. It was something he could count on. The emptiness of it all. He could control what came in, and what came out.

There weren’t many areas in Tsukishima Kei’s life that he had the control over, but this was one of the areas he could count on that if he was careful, he could control.

Tsukishima Kei hates feeling full. He hates it with everything he has.

He hates not knowing when the feeling will go away.

He hates the feeling of digestion and the sluggishness after a large meal.

Finally, he hates the process of eating, and for Tsukishima, it’s been this way for years.

That feeling of fullness, of always having something sloshing around inside of him always sickened him, because he knew the feeling was deceiving. He knew that if he believed that feeling of being full, of being content and happy, it would ultimately leave him and disappoint him. So that was why he decided that he needed to have the control.

So after years of trying to avoid that feeling altogether, he decided that he couldn’t hide or avoid it anymore. He had to do something about it. He forced himself to get to that full feeling, but after he hit the feeling, he made it go away.

Tsukishima Kei purged the feeling away.

One finger, two fingers, then a third down the back of his throat. He’s practiced enough that it doesn’t take long for him to start. But after years of doing this, he developed a desensitized gag reflex, which made him have to change up his method. He used to only do one finger. Now, it was three fingers to get him going.

Kei kept the headphones over his ears as he did this, simply because he didn’t like hearing the sounds he made or the sound of it all hitting the water in the toilet bowl. He has always hated the sound of vomiting, no matter if it was himself or others. That meant there was a downside to this method of faking it and purging afterwards. 

That was why for years, Tsukishima tried his very hardest not to eat.

But eventually, he couldn’t hide it anymore.

Tall, thin, blond, and toned were always the choice words to describe the boy, if not quiet and mysterious as well. There was so much more to Kei than all of those things, but he had always been judged on his physical attributes and those were the things that seemed to stick to him.

That was why he was never likened to his eating disorder.

As he finished and pulled his hand away from his mouth, reaching for his water bottle, Tsukishima rinsed out his mouth and spit it back into the toilet. He flushed the toilet and stood, turning off the music that his phone was producing. He didn’t take the headphones off, but he just wanted to be sure there was nobody out in the bathroom. Kei hated knowing that he had an audience.

As he exited the stall, he came face to face with a boy who was frozen against the wall. The boy seemed more curious than anything, like worried or concerned, or apologetic like he usually received. He just looked like he wanted to know more, or to know what was going on, rather than worry about it. There was a wonder in the eyes that Kei really just couldn’t explain.

“Tough luck on your first day, huh?” the boy asked as he reached to turn the faucet on.

Kei only had to nod to get those curious brown eyes to turn away from him and focus on something else, like washing his hands. A smile spread on the stranger’s face and it took everything in Tsukishima to keep his eyes on his own hand washing. “Well, I hope you feel better. If you need anything, I’m Yamaguchi Tadashi, by the way,” the boy had said.

It only took Tsukishima a moment to step around the boy and go to his own sink to start his own hand washing. “Tsukishima Kei. Thank you for your concern, but I’ll be fine,” he said gently as he continued to wash his hands and as he forced himself to stop looking at the slightly shorter male.

“Well, then, I’ll see you around, Tsukishima-San,” Yamaguchi had said in a polite manner. He shook his hands over the sink, not taking the time to dry them with the air dryer or the paper towels, but to each his own, Tsukishima figured.

Yamaguchi was gone before Tsukishima had the time to say anything else.

It was unsettling, but Kei couldn’t shake the feeling that this stranger was right. He would see Yamaguchi again.

\---

_Chapter 1_

There were just somethings in life that could not be questioned. Or at the very least, they shouldn't be questioned because that was how they were. Tsukishima Kei had learned that at a very young age and it was a fact of life that he had just come to accept.

Right at the moment, Tsukishima was choosing not to question why he was being forced from his sleep at six in the morning by the sound of a rather high-pitched, annoying and shrill voice from outside his bedroom door that was coupled with the sound of banging against the wooden structure.

Well, it wasn't necessarily _his_ bedroom, but with the amount of time he had spent there, it might as well have been his bedroom.

"Hey, asshole, how does Suga and the rest of the building feel about you screeching and yelling to wake them up at this god-awful hour?" Tsukki had asked. He pulled the fluffy pillow out from under his head and pushed it against his ear and tried to block out the sound of Oikawa's yelling and banging.

The door opened with a cheerful laugh and a shake of the head from the energetic brunet, but it was followed up with a yelp from Oikawa when Tsukishima had launched an unidentified stuffed animal at the door and very nearly missed Oikawa to Tsukishima's dismay. 

"Oh, come on, Kei-Chan! It's breakfast time, and Suga's already up and he's gone out for some reason or another. I just wanted to talk before he gets back to the apartment. I'm coming it," the annoying entertainer had said as he walked into the room. He sat down on the bed and he had a pout upon his lips. "Scoot over. I'm cold," Oikawa said.

"You are _not_ getting in bed with me."

"Yes I am. Now, move over or I'm laying on you."

"I'm naked under the covers. No!" Kei insisted.

"That's even better, more body heat," Oikawa said with a smirk as he started to shift the blue and white comforter under him and slide his body underneath it.

"Tooru, no," Kei complained, but it was too late. Oikawa was already under the blanket with him by now. Oikawa Tooru, the utterly and unsurprisingly most invasive person that Kei had ever known had started to wiggle closer to him in the bed.

It was far too early for this shit, Kei thought.

Oikawa let out a laugh as he pressed even closer to the large source of heat under the blanket. "Kei, you are definitely wearing clothes under here. I thought you knew better than to lie to your senpai?"

The brunet yelped again with Kei slapped his bare calf and dug his nails in a bit. "Can you just go away? I didn't want to be awake again for at least another hour," the blond one replied. Tsukki was not a morning person, and Oikawa was just giving him more of a reason not to be. "You are also the _last_ person I would call _senpai_." 

With an audible gasp that was clearly made to be more dramatic than necessary, and a sniffle that anyone else might actually buy, but it wasn't working on Kei one little bit. In his mind, Oikawa was just becoming more and more annoying as each second went by. "You hurt me, Kei-Chan! All I want is to look after-"

"Okay, okay, what do you _really_ want from me?" Tsukki asked, rolling away from Oikawa onto his back and creating space between him and Oikawa. Usually, this was normal and Oikawa was always this insufferable. But at the moment, Kei just didn't want to deal with it anymore. Not this early. Not on the first day of classes.

Oikawa had sighed and he rolled onto his back too, reaching for Tsukki's hand that the blond boy had instantly pulled away from. "For one, I was only coming to wake you up as a reminder that you have class today. You should be getting a jog in, remember? It is your first day, so you want to start setting good habits. Two, I have breakfast ready for you. I will happily let you be for the rest of your morning if you just eat breakfast."

That was a _dirty_ trick, and Oikawa knew it too. Oikawa knew that throwing food in his face as a bargaining tool to buy his cooperation and silence was always a tough decision to make. Especially if the food option bought Tsukki some quiet and Oikawa's cooperation for the rest of the morning. 

"You are the worst, you know that?" Tsukki murmured quietly as he looked up at the ceiling and shook his head. He had to remind himself rather often that Oikawa only did this to help Kei. He was just looking out for him. Glancing over to Oikawa, he sighed. "I'll eat. But if you experimented again, like the time you tried to cook Chicken Parmesan, you can forget it."

That was honestly all the older lad had needed to hear. He sat up and smiled down to Tsukki. He leaned down to kiss the younger's forehead and Kei tried to swat at him, but Oikawa had already climbed out of bed in that time. "Nah, no experimentation this time. Just rice and some miso soup," Oikawa had said with a smile as he walked towards the door. He was gone before the blond knew it.

But of course, he was too awake to just fall back into his peaceful slumber. This was probably Oikawa's plan all along. Tsukki pushed himself out of bed, adjusted his shirt and shorts before making his way out of his room to go find Oikawa and join him. He figured it was his bedroom by now, anyway.

The apartment was being rented by Oikawa and Sugawara, who was Oikawa's ever thoughtful and cheerfully optimistic boyfriend, whom of which probably told Oikawa not to wake Tsukki before his first day, but it had been a lost cause. He wasn't sure that Suga had told Oikawa not to wake him on his first day, but he was assuming anyway. Kei was just counting his lucky stars that he had been allowed to stay over in the first place. He was always allowed to stay where Oikawa had lived for at least the last three years now, simply because they had grown up together. Kei's and Tooru's mom's had worked together for years and they were friends. Kei's older brother, Akiteru, had deemed Oikawa to be his unofficial guardian before either of them had either realized it. 

Now, the apartment was a nice apartment. It really was, and there wasn't much to complain about. It was a small apartment, but the couple only really needed additional space when their school projects and assignments had to come home with them. As Oikawa and Suga were both theater majors, that happened more often than either of them really cared for. But it was the price they knew they had to pay for their major. The apartment had two bedrooms. Those bedrooms were on opposite ends of the apartment, which was honestly a great thing for Kei whenever Suga and Oikawa were busy rocking the entire building from their own bedroom. The kitchen opened up to the dining space, and on the other side of the dining space was the living room, which also lead to the front door.

As Tsukki came out of his bedroom, which lead into the very bright living room, he saw Oikawa in the dining room and the brunet had already looked pleased with his endeavors. The two of them had exchanged a look that told Tsukki everything he had needed to know.

Oikawa had planned this. It was written all over his face. Tsukki really should have known better by now. "You really are the worst," Kei repeated as he came to the table, taking a seat at one of the unmatched quintuplet of chairs at the dining table. 

Once Kei had taken his seat, Oikawa had come over with two bowls that he had set down in front of Kei. At the very least, neither of these foods would leave Kei feeling too full. That was something he had to remember. Still, it was rather irritating to know that Oikawa had planned this, meaning he was hoping all of the annoying antics this morning was a ploy to hopefully get the blond to agree to eat something.

"It's your first day of college classes. Growing boys like yourself need to eat, babe," Oikawa had said with a soft smile. He had to be careful about saying such things, because he knew how Kei felt. But if he said it in the right tone and with the correct look on his face, Kei would just let it go.

All Kei had wanted was to get an hour more of sleep, then go for a morning jog and get a stretch in before his classes had started. But instead, here he was, getting fed by Oikawa and awaiting Oikawa's words of wisdom and advice which would go in one ear and out the other.

The tall and lanky, blond college freshman had taken a look at the brunet and he studied him a bit. He was tall. Not as tall as Kei was, but Oikawa had some height to him. Oikawa was also rather gorgeous and anyone could see that. Even Tsukki couldn't deny that fact, regardless of how much he hated the boy sometimes and how annoying he could get. He had deep brown eyes and a hair color to match. He was so polite and popular with all of the ladies. He knew how to sway them and get them to listen to him. Oikawa knew how to catch their attention, with his attractive smile and all. The other unsurprising thing was that Oikawa had an appealing build. He kept himself in shape and he was toned up under his university sweatshirt and his teal boxers, which were only covering maybe a third of his thighs.

Honestly, anyone could see how and why Sugawara fell for Oikawa, no matter how many times Suga claimed that he wasn't that shallow and that wasn't the only reason that Suga had fallen for Oikawa. He always said that he fell for Oikawa for his mind and thoughtfulness. But that was not the only reason Suga had fallen for Oikawa and everyone knew it.

It was true, though. There was a lot more to Oikawa than his looks and charms. Tsukki wasn't always the best at giving credit when he should. Oikawa had a passion and drive to him that was really only matched by a few people. He put his drive into everything that he did and if he enjoyed something, anyone that knew him would say that he was passionate about it. It was also the way that he put 110 percent of himself into everything that he did, along with his ambition and commitment that Tsukki knew deep down were the real reasons that Suga had fallen for Oikawa. Kei wished he could understand that just a little more, but it was just what it was.

Tsukki frowned as he picked up his chopsticks and he started in on his rice. He didn't mind rice and it was the one thing that he knew Oikawa could make confidently. He'd been pushed into eating Oikawa's rice more than once. "There we go, darling. Eat up!"

"Do we _have_ to do the pet names?" Kei asked as he shoved a bite of rice in his mouth and forced himself to get the rice off of the chopsticks. It really was a process for him to even eat. Before Kei could even swallow his rice, Oikawa had put his arm around Kei's shoulders and leaned into him a bit, hugging him in the process.

"Pet names? Oh, can't I just be affectionate with you?" Oikawa had asked and he got a groan out of the younger boy. Oikawa knew he was being a shit, really. But he surely didn't care enough to stop. He loved to antagonize Kei in about anyway and as often as he possibly could.

Once Tsukki took two more bites, Oikawa had let go of the hug and he circled himself around the table to go get himself some food, since he was already awake and up. "Do you have all of your things around for today?" Oikawa had asked as he lifted his own chopsticks up in an attempt to try to eat.

Tsukki looked up and stared at Oikawa, which had slowly turned into a glare. This wasn't happening. He wouldn't _let_ it happen. He was not going to play house with Oikawa. Not today, not any day. It was just simply not going to happen.

"Don't start babying me about this like you do with food. I am an adult. I also had to bring all of my stuff for school tomorrow to even be allowed to stay over," Tsukki said. He started to take bites of his soup and he turned his eyes down so he could see just what he was eating. 

With a scoff, Oikawa stabbed his chopsticks down into his bowl of rice rather harshly. Clearly, he had planned on some sort of elegant speech or parenting intervention, but Tsukki had just put a stop to it right then and there. He just was not feeling that. He had absolutely no patience to hear what Oikawa was going to try to instruct to him. At least not this early on. "I am not _babying_ you, and you are _barely_ an adult. I thought that you could use some instruction for your first day, or at least some advice."

There was no telling what kind of 'advice' Oikawa had up his sleeve. It would likely send him to the wrong class, or he'd end up making a complete fool of himself in a class. "Thanks, but no thanks. I'd rather ask Suga. At least I know he won't make me the laughing stock of the entire school on my first day, or get me on a bus to the completely wrong place," he had said which had earned a whine from Oikawa.

"Fine. Be that way. All I wanted to do was to help you," Oikawa had said right as the door had opened and closed.

"Help him with what? Don't listen to Oikawa, Tsukki-kun," said a sweet voice from the living room. Kei smirked wildly and the look on Oikawa's face was priceless. He looked offended at his own lover's words, but that was kind of typical for the two of them. They really did a lot of teasing with one another.

Suga-san, or Sugawara Koushi, the silvery-blond boy with an infectious smile and a personality that was nearly impossible not to fall in love with, was the kind of person that anyone, even people with the biggest of trust issues, would choose to put their faith in. He just gave off a certain kind of energy and was so encouraging that anyone would want him to be in their life.

The _only_ reason Tsukishima didn't give Suga all of his trust and spill all of his secrets to him was because of the inevitable guilt that Tsukki would eventually end up feeling. Tsukki knew he would end up feeling guilty for any advice Suga had given him. The guilt Suga would make him feel for not eating would make eat him up inside and cause him more pain than necessary. "Oh my, did Tooru cook that? Careful, he might have laced it with something," Suga had said with a wink to his boyfriend and it had gotten an annoyed look out of Oikawa, but it only took a few more moments for the look to turn cute.

"So mean to me, Suga-Chan," Oikawa said as he stood up and moved to embrace his lover.

"Only to you, babe," Suga had replied cutely as he leaned into Oikawa's embrace.

It was moments like this where the couple had seemed to be perfectly in sync. So much, in fact, that it really seemed to be an oddity and it reminded Tsukki why they were kind of perfect together.

The thing about Oikawa and Sugawara was that they didn't complete each other like other couples did. They were their own people and they were complete on their own, separately. Neither of them had any reason to need another person. But when they were together, they seemed to amplify one another. Separately, they were whole people and could stand perfectly capable on their own. Together, though, they became something out of a fairy tale or a blockbuster.

Tsukki did his best not to focus on the scene in front of him and he tried to focus on forcing more food down his throat. Although, he was starting to feel nauseous, with all of the food in his stomach and the overly-affectionate display that was still happening. "Tooru, I'm full. Can I go for my run now?" he asked, pushing his half-eaten bowl of rice and mostly empty bowl of miso soup towards Oikawa so he could examine them. 

It was as if a child had been asking if he had eaten enough to get up and go back to playing or to their room. Although, Oikawa did have to be careful about how much he pushed Kei into eating. Parents could get away with telling their kids to eat more. If Oikawa asked for too much, he knew Tsukki was much more likely to purge the food out from his body.

Oikawa gave Tsukki a questioning glace that Kei knew all too well. Suga slipped away to go into the kitchen to get food for himself as Oikawa leaned into look Kei in the face, getting a good read on him. His voice and demeanor had definitely changed to much more serious. "You're not going to-"

"No. Just want to go for a run," Tsukki said. Tsukki hadn't tried often, but he knew that he could lie to Oikawa. He had only been caught half of the time, but he really wasn't in the habit of lying to Oikawa. So a run was really what he was in the mood for and nothing more. No purging his breakfast.

Tsukki put his elbow on the table and reached a hand out, sticking his pinkie out to offer it to Oikawa. Oikawa mimicked the action and he hooked pinkies with Kei, nodding to the boy and he took Kei's word that he wouldn't do anything other than go for a run.

Regardless of how much shit Kei gave to Tooru, he knew that underneath all of that show and teasing, the brunet really did care deeply for the blond boy. It was just part of who Oikawa was. He was dramatic and childish towards his friends for show. But when it came to their well-being, he was all about protecting them and doing anything for them to keep them from harm of any kind.

The pinkie promise had been their thing for years now, since they were young children. Kei wasn't sure why they had held onto it for this long. Maybe it had something to do with Akiteru. Or maybe it had something to do Oikawa's hidden insecurities and anxieties about Kei that he would deny until the day he died. But Tsukki wasn't mean enough to take that away from Oikawa. He would let Oikawa hold onto that comfort and reassuring gesture, no matter how cynical Tsukki had grown to be.

Suga had come back into the dining room the moment Tsukki had decided to take his remaining food and bowls into the kitchen, to the older male had gone to seat that Tsukki had given up and Tsukki went to put his bowls into the sink after emptying them into the trash, so they could be washed.

Walking back into the dining room, Tsukki looked at the pair. "I'll be back after my run," Tsukki said, although he wasn't sure why he had bothered announcing that to either of them. They waved him off and told him to be careful as usual. Once Tsukki got changed, he headed straight to the door to leave the apartment and go to the street. The good thing about Oikawa's and Suga's apartment was how close it was to their school campus. Kei's plan was to jog to the school's outdoor track that they kept behind the school's main gymnasium, do four or so laps, and then jog back to get showered and changed for class.

So that was what he did. Kei was one for routines and plans. Even though he didn't throw a fit if little things changed or if something came up and didn't quite go the way it was anticipated to go, Kei always had a game plan and he stuck with it to the very best of his ability.

After his jog, he went back into the apartment to see that Suga and Oikawa had disappeared, probably back into their room, and he went straight to the shower to clear away the sweat and regret of his morning. He was feeling the food digest in his stomach and it was already getting to him. It wasn't getting to him bad enough that he would break his promise to Oikawa about not throwing up his breakfast, but his body was trying to fight him against that promise.

Kei let the water hit his long body and run over his skin. He could feel his tired muscles respond to the warm water and the muscles were definitely thankful and appreciative to the heat, due to their response of feeling better and more relaxed as they soaked in the water.

At the moment, all Kei could think about was his school schedule. He knew it wasn't a typical schedule compared to other schools, but his school wasn't typical. He was going to a performing art's school and he was majoring in dance. Dance was more of a talent than anything, but either way, his schedule was kind of packed for his first semester. First thing, he had his choreography class, which Tsukishima was already regretting having that class at nine in the morning. After choreography, he went to psychology, which counted as his humanities elective. Then he went to a music tech class, which he figured would probably teach him to break down music and learn how to best choose songs for different shows and productions. Once he finished that class and had lunch, he had two dance classes afterwards in a row. He was in ballet, which they still had to test all of the students to see which level classes they were in for ballet. Finally, he moved to modern dance.

They saved the worst class for last.

Today was the beginning of it all. Tsukki was finally following his dream to be a performer. For the longest time, all Kei wanted was to dance and let others see. Dance was all technical and strength. It was all body movement and feeling the flow of the music inside of him. Kei had wanted to be a performer from the time he was four years old: the first time he saw a ballet.

He wanted to be that center of attention. He wanted to give the audience something to be wowed by. He wanted to give them a reason to focus on anything other than whatever their hectic lives were bound to at the moment. He wanted the viewer to be stunned by grace and beauty, through movements and song that only dance could possibly portray.

That was why Tsukki was here now. He couldn't imagine being elsewhere.

So now, after his long shower and the three minutes it took him to get dried and dressed, Tsukki was ready to start his day. He started to head out, realizing that Suga and Oikawa didn't have class for another hour or so.

He was really just hoping for the best. Tsukki didn't have doubts about his dancing ability. He knew he had a lot to learn, but he was determined to prove that he could absolutely do this. Hopefully though, this semester would breeze on by. That was really the only thing he could hope for at this point.

After he made a pit stop in the bathroom and he tried to tell himself that he would come clean to Oikawa, he walked around for a little while to get his surroundings again. He hadn't been there for nearly a month and he just wanted to be sure that he could get to his classes, and then finally made his way to the classroom he was meant to be in.

But the moment he stepped into his choreography class, he was immediately filled with dread. He had a sinking feeling that all of his hopes would be throw in the trash.

As he walked into the classroom, his ears were filled with a god-awful EDM song that was coming from a pocket speaker of some sort that made Tsukki's nose turn up and he thought his ears were going to bleed. But that wasn't even the worst of it. The worst of it was what was being displayed in the middle of the half circle that the class had created.

He watched as a brown-eyed boy with freckles and an annoyingly cocky smile moved in time with the music that was being played. He threw his body around the room, getting laughs and cheers from the students that had created the half circle around him.

Kei was not amused.

With a fully developed and signature to him annoyed eye roll, Kei walked to the desks that looked rather out of order and he took a seat at one of them. The room they were in seemed to be set up for learning, but it was also designed with dancing in mind as well, as the floors were wooden, there was a full wall mirror and a bar on the far wall, and Tsukki had noticed the sound system speakers in the room. But the desks and the projector on the ceiling with a pull down screen to project onto said learning to Kei.

It was clearly intended for studying choreography. He wondered how much dancing they would really be doing. Kei hoped it had nothing to do with what the idiot moving in the middle of the room was doing. Kei didn't want to call it dancing, because there was no technique to it.

Before Kei could think of any other insulting thoughts about the smug individual, Kei watched the guy dance towards him, their eyes meeting and they shared a look that no one else would understand. Their eyes only met for a brief moment, but that moment was enough for them and they looked away. The crowd had slowly shifted and Kei watched as Yamaguchi popped and locked his way to the desk Tsukishima was sitting at.

"Hey, if you're feeling okay, show me your moves, tall guy," Yamaguchi had said. The look they shared was just an acknowledgement that they had met each other in the bathroom before this class and Kei was silently telling him that he was fine.

Tsukki scoffed and turned his head while he raised his eyebrows. "My moves would probably be too complex for you to understand, so I'll pass. But you keep doing you, I guess," Tsukki said.

There was a pause in Yamaguchi's movements and the music had turned off. The room was suddenly quiet. Tsukki had thought he had started a war, or was sure he would have to explain why his moves were too complex. But as it turned out, the teacher had walked in. "Every single time. Whenever you give a studio to a dance class, someone inevitably starts dancing," the girl in the front of the room had said. But she hadn't sounded annoyed or disappointed. To Tsukishima's dismay, she just sounded amused. He was hoping to end that nonsensical dancing for good.

"Take your seats. We have a lot to cover and I honestly don't want to have to repeat myself. Let's do roll call and we will get started after that, okay?" she had said and the class moved to the desks, going to sit down.

The roll call had started and Kei had finally said he was there when she got to his name. It took her only a few minutes, but Kei was just anxious to get started. Once she had finished, she sat down and she smiled to the class. "Alright, class. This is a dancing class. It's your choreography class, so we are going to do a lot with learning how to stick to the dance routine and follow specific steps to put on a good show. I will pass out the course outline and syllabus at the end of the class, but right now, I want to get to know all of you. The best way to do that I've found is to have each of you come up, one at a time, and introduce yourself to the class, one at a time. Then I'll have you pick a genre of music to dance to and I'll have you freestyle for the class."

This was certainly going to be interesting. "I'll go first, just so you guys can see what I'm expecting. I'm professor Suzuki Hana. You can call me professor, or just my name is fine with me. I am your choreography teacher and I've been teaching for seven years now and I have had some impressive classes, so I hope you all will impress me. My favorite style of dance is a toss up, but I love performing contemporary dance myself. I love teaching, my favorite thing to do is to watch my students completely destroy and nail a performance. I've been dancing since I was eight years old and it is my passion. My family supports me completely and I have performed in dance companies."

Once she was done speaking, she put on a slower song and displayed why she was one of their dance professors. She only danced for maybe thirty seconds, but it was long enough to tell the class that she as definitely meant to be there. The class applauded when she was through and then the class went through their introductions.

It was surprising to Tsukki to see how many kids hadn't had any formal dance training. Some had been dancing their whole life with no dance training, others hadn't danced for more than five years, but had taken formal dance classes. He had only seen two or three students that actually impressed him It was then Kei's turn and he stood up, moving to the middle of the room. "Hey, guys. My name is Tsukishima Kei. I prefer Tsukishima to Kei though, so please try to use that. I've been dancing since I was five years old, but I've only been in dance classes from the age of ten. My favorite style of dance is actually ballet, although I have taken some ballroom and tap classes. My favorite thing to do would have be dance and seeing how a crowd has been blown away by a performance. Could you possibly play some classical music for me to show my ballet?" Kei asked as he turned his head towards the teacher.

She nodded and found a song after she was done taking notes. She pressed play and it was a classical piece that Kei was familiar with. He had actually considered doing a dance to this piece, but he had decided on another song. He felt the music moving through him and Kei had started to move himself, feeling the way the song was moving him. He took him to a pirouette first and he then leaped through the air. It was just how he was feeling and he smiled as he felt himself getting lost in it all.

The music had gone on longer than some of the other students were allowed, but that actually made Kei feel good. He could feel a good ending spot coming and he collapsed to the ground artistically, getting others to gasp and clap. Even the teacher, who had only half-heatedly clapped for the other students had stood up and stared to applaud him fully. "That was gorgeous, Tsukishima. Very nice display of your ballet dancing techniques, there. Thank you once again," Hana had said before she went to sit back down.

There was only two other students left before Yamaguchi was asked to give his introduction. "Hi! Ahh, my name is Yamaguchi Tadashi. I really don't mind either name, honestly. You can call me anything. I have been dancing only from the time I turned eleven, and there's a story behind that. My family introduced me to dance at that age and we've all been dancing ever since. I don't have any formal training, but I've loved to dance since I turned eleven. My favorite style of dance would have to be hip hop and modern dancing, actually. There's still a lot of technique involved, but I just feel like those styles are more free and you can put more of yourself into those styles. Other than dancing, my favorite thing to do is to help others and do what I can for the community. Professor Hana, could you possibly put on a contemporary song? Something with a soul feel? I want to show the class that I can do more than hip hop," he said with a bit of a sheepish look on his face.

She laughed a bit as she put on a contemporary song for him. It was a Sara Bareilles song that Kei was also familiar with. The thing was, Kei didn't hate contemporary, but he preferred the structure of ballet and how the dancers had to be more exact and technical with what they did. It took a certain strength to dance ballet. It wasn't to say that contemporary didn't take strength, but Kei just believed that ballet took more strength.

Kei watched as Yamaguchi moved and the moves were better than what he had displayed earlier. He was flexible and he definitely had control over his body. His moves were actually breath taking at times and he displayed so much emotion in his dancing. The teacher had let Yamaguchi go longer too, probably because it was the end of class and he was the last one to go. But it also had to do with how remarkable Yamaguchi had been moving.

To say that Kei was impressed was an understatement, but he really didn't want that to show. He would rather pretend he wasn't impressed so Yamaguchi didn't get a big head. The last thing Tsukki wanted to do was give the boy a bigger ego that he already had. Once the teacher stopped the music, everyone applauded and Kei applauded lightly, just in case Yamaguchi looked over to see him. He didn't want to give him the wrong idea.

"That was very good, Yamaguchi. I am impressed. For having no formal dance training, you would never be able to tell. Your family has influenced you well," the teacher had said. "Okay, class. I have two folders here. When you leave, I will ask you to take a copy from each folder. That will be the end of class. Thank you, all. I will see you again on Wednesday," she had said.

Kei got up and watched as other students walked to her desk. Yamaguchi seemed to fall in line right next to him. "You were really good with your ballet, Tsukki. Is it okay if I call you that?"

A chill went down Kei's spine and he looked at Yamaguchi. "I would rather you didn't. But thank you. You were good with your contemporary dance, too," he murmured. Compliments were not the easiest thing for Kei to hand out and he certainly didn't want to make a habit of it. At least not to Yamaguchi, here.

"Well thank you, Tsukki-..shima," Yamaguchi said, stumbling over his name because he realized that Kei didn't like the nickname he was given. "What do you have next?"

The blond boy took a syllabus and a class outline before walking to the door. "I'm going to go meet my friends. Go enjoy your classes," Tsukki had said. He wanted to lose the brunet so he could go find Oikawa and confess what had happened. It wasn't supposed to happen, but he just had an urge and he couldn't help it. He knew Oikawa was going to be mad for at him for purging when he had made a promise, but it was just something that had to happen.

Tsukishima had wanted to go find Oikawa, but he had bumped into a tall man that had disheveled hair and he was wearing a red sweatshirt. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you there. But maybe it was a good thing we ran into each other," he said. "I'm just going to my psychology class. Do you need help getting around?" the lad had asked.

The tone had changed from apologetic to flirty in about three seconds flat. Kei wasn't so sure how he felt about that, but it wasn't something he could change at the moment. "I'm also going to a psychology class. I think I know where it is though, so thank you."

"Oh! That's cool, I wonder if we'll have the same class. Mine is only an elective level course," the man had said as they started to walk in the direction of the classroom. Hopefully, fingers crossed, they weren't in the same classroom, but Kei had a sinking suspicion that they would end up in the same classroom. "I'm Kuroo Tetsuro, by the way. You?"

This was a dangerous thing for Kei, but he would just have Oikawa scare him off if this boy was any kind of bad news. "Tsukishima Kei," he said as they walked to the wing the psych classes were in.

They walked and stopped in front of the same class. "Is this your stop?" Kuroo had asked and he smirked a bit, giving Tsukki an even worse vibe. Kei nodded and Kuroo let out a little laugh. "Looks like we have it together after all. We'll get to see each other more often," Kuroo said. As they walked in, Kuroo walked over to what Kei assumed were some of his friends. Tsukki went to the back of the class and took a seat. He saw a familiar head of brown hair and they looked into each other's eyes at the same time once more.

It was Yamaguchi. They had this class together too, which really wasn't too surprising but Tsukki was hoping to have time away from the show off.

But what was he going to do?


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If there are more comments about asking me to remove the KuroTsukki tag, I will ask you to remember that this isn't your fic and I have a reason for my tagging. The comments on the first chapter will tell you everything you need to know as far as the tagging goes. Otherwise, please enjoy! I love comments and kudos!

Psych class couldn't have gone by any slower and Tsukki was nearly about to start pulling all of his hair out. He would have if it weren't for Kuroo's antics in the front of the class that seemed to make everything more enjoyable.

Every so often, the blond caught himself glancing over at Yamaguchi, which he had to remind himself that he really didn't care what Yamaguchi thought or what he was up to. But he had a natural curiosity about the boy. Regardless, Tsukki really didn't want to get more involved in the boy than he had to be, so he had to keep mentally kicking himself when he glanced over at the boy.

After class had come to a close, the boy stood up and he found himself walking with Kuroo once again. Or, rather, Kuroo had started walking next to him and trying to get more information about the boy. "You're here for dance, huh? That's cool. I'm here for engineering and I would love to be a recording engineer at some point, but we will see. I might have to transfer to another school if I decide that I can't make it as a recording engineer."

The thing was, Tsukki didn't ask. He really didn't want to know more about Kuroo and he really couldn't be bothered to ask. He just wanted Kuroo to go a different way. Tsukki could see himself becoming friends with the boy eventually, but right now, it was kind of overwhelming for Kuroo to be coming after him when he really didn't know anything about the boy. He would probably ask Oikawa and Suga about him at some point to see if they knew anything about him. It was likely, but Tsukki just wasn't sure at the moment.

The next class went by quickly and Tsukki was excited to learn that Oikawa and Suga would be in that class as teaching assistants. Sure, he gave the two boys complete and total shit to their face, but he loved them and cared about them more than he would ever let on and he could really use a class with them after all.

Lunch went by and Tsukki decided not to go back to the apartment, just because he knew that Oikawa and Suga were going back and he didn't want to be caught not eating again. So he stayed in one of the school lounges and caught onto Yamaguchi once again. But this time, he was on the phone and talking very quietly to someone, so they didn't catch each other's eyes this time around. Tsukki just went into organizing his bag and wasted as much time as he possibly could before getting to the class he really wanted to get to. He was more than excited about ballet.

After his lunch hour was over, Tsukki went straight to the dance wing of the school and found the auditions for the ballet classes. He was scheduled to go somewhere in the middle, which gave him time to put on his shoes and get himself ready by stretching and listening to some classical music to get his mind on what he was likely to perform.

It was unsurprising to Kei, but he spotted Yamaguchi again and the boy was dressed in a different outfit. He also had ballet shoes that looked like they were brand new and rather cheap. Kei smirked and continued to look at him. His smirk stopped when Yamaguchi saw him and walked over, sitting down next to him. "I'm nervous, Tsukishima. I already know that they are going to put me in the lowest level. Can't I just opt out of the audition?" he asked. There was a tone to his voice that definitely pegged him as being nervous. It was all over his body language, too, which wasn't going to go over well.

There was no way for Yamaguchi to get out of the auditions, but Tsukki did feel a little bit of pity for the boy. The boy really didn't like ballet, so Tsukki wondered just why he even had to take ballet. Sure, it was still good to broaden his repertoire of dance and learn as much as he could, but it was a little unfair to push ballet on him when he didn't want to do it. "I don't think you can, but being nervous isn't going to help you any. Clear your mind, get ready, and give it all you can."

Tsukki wasn't sure why he was being so nice to the boy, but it happened and he wondered what possessed him to be show kindness to someone that he couldn't stand. Why did Yamaguchi keep finding him, anyway? Why did he keep coming back to Tsukki? Couldn't he tell that Tsukki didn't care for him?

"I only decided to take ballet because my friends were joking and told me I couldn't do it, but I wanted to prove them wrong." That was such a harsh thing for friends to do anyway, Tsukki thought. What friend would make a joke about someone not being able to do something? Those were some friends for Yamaguchi to have. "Okay, okay. I should probably just start listening to music to clear my mind and get stretched out," Yamaguchi said as he put his earbuds in.

It sounded like pop music coming from Yamaguchi's earbuds and that was rather concerning to Tsukki, since he couldn't dance to pop music for ballet. Sure he could try, but it definitely wouldn't go over well.

They sat there for five minutes or so while others were going in for auditions and such when Tsukki's name was called. He went in, gave it all that he had, gave his background, and came back out to find that Yamaguchi had gone into another audition room. "You can do this. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't," Tsukki said quietly as he looked towards the dance room that Yamaguchi was in. The technique Yamaguchi was showing was very poor and Tsukki felt bad for the boy, but it was just improper training.

Why did he care though? Why did Tsukishima want to help this show off of a human succeed when they clearly didn't click correctly in the first few hours they knew each other? Kei had a feeling he would never know, but it was still troubling that he found himself caring about someone he hardly knew.

Before Yamaguchi was done, a teacher called Tsukki back into a room to go over his performance. He felt his heart race a bit. Would he be put into a beginner class? Did his dancing need work? Before they could even start, he cleared his throat. "I know I messed up a bit and I was a tiny bit wobbly on my first spin. I promise I can do better and-"

They cut him off with a laugh and a hand in the air. "Tsukishima, we didn't bring you back to critique your dancing one bit. We brought you in here to ask you how you managed to get as good as you have at your age? We also brought you back to have you do just a few more things so we could talk about moving you into a higher level ballet class. We just don't know which level would be appropriate, so that's why we need to ask you to do a few more things."

Kei felt the relief hit him and he smiled to himself, realizing just how crazy it was for him to think anything less of himself when it came to dancing. He worked so hard to perfect his dancing and he knew he would only learn more here. He had no reason to doubt himself when it came to ballet.

Once the teachers asked him to do a few more moves and Kei listened to how they commented on his form and technique, he was allowed to leave. "I know you said you'd have the list up tomorrow morning, but can I ask what you're thinking?" Kei asked, turning his head back to look at the two teachers. They were smiling to him and one of the teachers nodded.

"So we haven't completely made up our mind just yet, but we are going to talk about putting you in the top level ballet we can offer. At this rate though, we may just put you in the level below the top level, see how you do in that class, and then we can talk about moving you up in a few weeks if it seems to be too easy for you." This was honestly some of the best news he had heard. Kei couldn't believe that they were thinking about putting him in their top class right at the beginning.

He smiled and thanked them, but he had just a few more questions. "Are there any other first year students that you're starting at the level you're putting me in?" Kei asked, tilting his head. He knew that by asking this, he was going to give himself a big head, but he wanted to know who he would be competing with in the coming days.

The teachers shrugged a bit. "While we took the more advanced students like yourself, we don't know what the other teachers saw while holding their auditions. But we will get the list up tomorrow and you will find out then."

With a hum, Kei felt himself become a bit more satisfied and he knew that he really should have just left, but there was something in him that just told him to stop and ask his final question. "Hey, uh... if I can help another student and he improves, will he get the chance to move up as well?"

It seemed like they were getting annoyed with him, so Kei shook his head and bowed his head. "Thank you for this. I won't let you down," he said as he left the dance room to go back into the hall. Once he closed the door, he could only see the back of Yamaguchi's head and the way he was shaking it. Getting closer, he could hear the boy muttering to himself and it was rather concerning to Tsukki.

Kei reached down for his bag and he licked his lips, startling Tadashi in the process. The brunet jumped and looked over to Kei, who smiled softly to him. "I was watching the beginning of your audition, but the professors called me back in to have me do a few things for them. How did it go?" Kei asked. In the back of his mind, he was kicking himself and wondering once again why he kept asking about this boy. Kei honestly couldn't remember a boy he had ever been more annoyed with, other than Oikawa when the two had met officially. But that annoyance feeling never really went away, it just morphed into other things and Kei realized that he wasn't going to get rid of Oikawa any time soon.

"It was awful. You know, I haven't taken any kind of dance class. I don't know the first thing about ballet. You would think that would tell me that I didn't have a chance in ballet when I signed up for it. But of course, I wanted to prove my brothers and family wrong. I wanted to show them that I could in fact do this. I guess I'll just make them happy and prove that they were right. They'll be happy to know that they were right."

That was probably the saddest thing Kei had heard in a while. Who would be happy about a family member not succeeding in something? Granted, his own father would be happy to learn that he had failed out of dance academy. But that was different, he thought. If Tadashi's family supported his dancing, they should want him to succeed in ballet. "No, you know what? You're going to prove them wrong. Stick at least this semester out. The beginner class for ballet is going to have freshmen and other students like yourself in it, okay? Don't let people tell you that you can't do this."

It was likely that the only reason that Tsukki was getting so worked up about this was because he didn't have the support he needed from his own family with dance. Or really, it was only his dad that didn't support his dancing dream. But the issue was that Yamaguchi did have support, they just didn't support him with ballet. That was just wrong of them and Tsukishima wasn't going to stand for that.

But he didn't know Yamaguchi's family. There was little he could do.

"I'll stick it out, since I want to get better at all kinds of dance. But they are just expecting me to fail, I guess," Yamaguchi said softly, shrugging his shoulders.

Kei sighed and he walked with Tadashi out of the ballet studios and they went to the next class. They were early, since ballet wasn't a full class today, but they noticed there was a slip of paper on the door for their modern dance class, saying that they wouldn't have class that day. It was such a relief for Kei, since he wanted to go home and relax and he absolutely hated the idea of modern dance, but it was a required course for him, so he figured he might as well get it out of the way. "Oh no, it's cancelled. I was looking forward to this class. I love modern dance," Yamaguchi said. Tsukki wasn't surprised that he liked it, but this was obviously a difference between them.

The pair said their goodbyes and they parted ways.

Getting back to Oikawa's and Suga's apartment, Kei realized that he wouldn't be able to get in, unless they were home. He didn't have a key yet and he wasn't going to ask them for one just yet. He knew they were just waiting for him to ask to move in, but he didn't want to ask to move in just yet. Oikawa and Suga knew that he wasn't ready to leave home yet. Oikawa knew that it was because his dad was abusive and Tsukki was trying to protect his mother. Suga had an idea that his dad was bad and that Tsukki wasn't ready to leave his mom just yet, but he didn't know the whole story just yet.

Regardless, Tsukki sat outside the apartment, on the little stoop they had. It was two steps, but it was enough to sit on and relax his body. College was exhausting, and Tsukki thought that high school was tiring enough.

He didn't have homework, so there wasn't any thing of that sort to worry about. He was just looking through his phone and he was wondering if it was worth texting anyone. Usually, it wasn't worth it. So he settled on going on Tumblr and looking through stuff there. It was amusing enough that he hadn't realized how much time had passed when he heard voices coming from down the street. It was Suga and Oikawa, so he could finally get inside.

"Oh, Tsukki! I thought you'd still be in class. Didn't you have modern dance last? I thought we set up our schedules so one of us could let you in," Suga asked as Oikawa reached to unlock and open the door. He got it done and Tsukki stood up, stretching out.

He was very glad to see them, since he really did just want to get inside and he was desperate to go to the bathroom at this point. "Yeah, but modern was cancelled I guess. That's what the paper said. The teacher is sick or something. I don't like modern anyway, so..." Tsukki had a smug smile on his face as he took off his shoes and his bag, settling both by the door and going to the couch.

With a frown, Suga shrugged it off and decided not to push the matter any further. He didn't want to get into a fight with Tsukki on his first day. "How was class anyway? How did you enjoy your first day of classes? Is college everything you thought it would be?" Suga asked as he looked towards Oikawa, who was busy texting and went to go sit next to Tsukki.

A laugh came out of Tsukki's mouth as he stretched out a little. "Well, it was definitely something. I met a few people. I also think I'm going to like it more than high school. There's more freedom to do what I want," the blond said as he looked over to Oikawa, making a face as the boy continued to tap furiously on his phone. "What are you doing?" Tsukki asked, but he wasn't given a response by Oikawa.

"He's sending an email to our acting class teacher. The teacher wanted to know if we had any ideas for performances we wanted to do and Tooru is full of them," Suga said with a laugh.

Finally, the phone went down and Oikawa looked up, smiling to the room. "Okay, now that I'm done with that, how was class, Tsukki?" Oikawa asked. Kei rolled his eyes and looked at Suga. "What? I want to know how your first day was! Was it everything you-"

"Already covered that, babe. He's going to like it more than high school because of the freedom," Suga said as he sat himself down on Oikawa's lap. It was moments like this that Kei didn't live here, simply because Kei couldn't handle all of the affection that was displayed in this apartment. Sometimes it was cute, but at times like this, Kei couldn't handle it. At the very least, all he was doing was sitting in Oikawa's lap. He wasn't kissing him or anything of the sort.

Oikawa frowned and he held Suga around his middle. "Oh, sorry. So tell me more then?" Oikawa asked as he leaned his cheek against Suga's back. Kei had gotten used to this, but at times, it was just annoying to see them on top of each other all the time. It was cute, though. They were really something out of a story book. Or really, they were better than the story books.

"Well, I met a boy that I have a feeling I'm going to hate more and more as the year goes on. The very first thing I saw him doing was showing off in choreography class. We have so many classes together, too. The only class that we don't share together is my music tech class. But at the very least, we won't be in the same ballet lessons, because he is so bad at ballet," Tsukki said and he smirked, letting out a bit of a laugh. Right now, this was just for show. He was annoyed with Yamaguchi, but he didn't like the way he got down on himself about ballet.

After a moment, Suga let out one of his signature, disappointed sighs. "He's probably better at other dances. Not everyone can do ballet, you know," Suga said as he crossed his arms. Tsukishima knew that Suga was disappointed in him right then, because the silvery blond had his way of showing when he was disappointed in someone. "Not everyone was blessed with a mother that paid for ballet classes, either," Suga said.

That was true, Kei thought. Although, it was something that he really didn't want to think about. Sure, his mother managed to pay for his classes, but he knew there were fights about it and his mother had to hide it from his father. It was just an all around bad situation. "Yeah, well, you should have seen him. He had zero technique and he just threw his body around wherever he wanted to," Kei said sounding rather annoyed.

Oikawa made a face and shook his head. "I know that dance is your thing, but isn't all dance just throwing your body around?" Oikawa asked, genuinely curious.

"Yes, but the same could be said about singing. Technically, we are singing when we speak. But there's a technique to produce a certain sound to distinguish speaking from singing. All movement is dance, but it's the technique that counts." Kei was getting rather annoyed with Oikawa and Suga at the moment, but he wouldn't let it show if he could help it. There were times when he wanted them to know that he was annoyed, but there were also times that he didn't want anyone to know that he was annoyed because he was almost annoyed by something. He couldn't help it, though, when everyone was typically dumb.

The pair of boys let out a collective sound of 'oh!' and they seemed to finally understand what the technique in dancing was. "Either way I'm sure he's better at other dances, Tsukki-kun," Suga said with a smile and Oikawa nodded.

The boys all sat there in silence for a bit, until Oikawa looked back to Kei and made a face. "What else happened? I want to know all about your day," Oikawa said. They were worse than his parents, but it was the only set of parents he really had at the moment. His mother was never home and she was exhausted by the time she was home, so Tsukki didn't want to bore her with talking about his day. His dad never asked and at any rate, Tsukki wouldn't tell him that he was going to a dance school when his dad specifically told him that he wasn't allowed to.

Giving in, Tsukki sat up a bit. "I met another guy. He seems nice, but a little intrusive. I can't remember his name at the moment, but I'll tell you when I figure it out. I think he's a third year student too," Kei said as he stood up. Suga followed Tsukki's lead and he went to the kitchen. Kei went to his bedroom, closing the door after himself.

He threw himself on the bed and he was joined by Oikawa, who opened the door, slipped in, and laid down next to him. Kei really didn't care at the moment. He cared this morning, but laying next to Oikawa was just a normal thing to happen now. He was used to it. "So, tell me the truth. After your run, or when you went out running, you didn't purge?" Oikawa asked and he turned his head towards Tsukki. He flinched and Oikawa sat up, frowning to him. "Kei... I know how much you don't like eating, but you have to eat to survive. It's important that you have food in you to have energy, especially because you want to be a dancer. If any teacher or school employee found out, they would report it and they wouldn't allow you to continue your major," Oikawa said.

It was true and it was kind of unfortunate to think about, but Kei just didn't plan on getting caught. He wasn't going to let anyone else find out that he had an eating disorder. He couldn't. "I know, but I can't help it right now. I'm trying to make myself eat more, but I just hate the feeling of being full. I hate it and it's so uncomfortable," Kei said as he rubbed his stomach. Oikawa reached his hand to Tsukki's shirt and he pulled up a little. Kei knew what he was after and he pushed his shirt down quickly, but not before Oikawa saw what he wanted to see.

"I knew it. You can still see your ribs..." Oikawa said as he poked at Tsukishima's clothed skin. It was something that Kei knew he needed to work on, but gaining weight was so hard when he really didn't eat, and exercising to gain muscle weight didn't work due to the fact that he just didn't eat enough. "Make me a deal."

This would be a mistake, but Kei sighed. "What's the deal?"

Oikawa looked down to Tsukishima again and he smiled a bit. "If you can gain one pound this week and keep it on by next week, I will make you a key and stop pushing you to just move in with us," Oikawa said. "But if you don't, I'm going to remind Suga that you're technically not living with us yet and he will bug you about moving in even more."

Wow, it was such a dirty trick for Oikawa to play. Tsukki groaned and he knew that it would be nice to have a key for situations like the one he was in an hour earlier. But he also wasn't sure how he felt about gaining a pound. That meant he would have to eat 3,500 calories or more in just one day. Probably more, since he was an active person. But the idea of Suga bugging him to move in sounded like a pain that he really just didn't need at the moment. It was one pound. How hard could it really be? He would just eat foods with lots of calories in them and do his best not to purge. "Why are you making me make this deal? I knew you were evil, but I didn't know you were this evil," Tsukki said with a pout.

He knew that Oikawa was evil, and he knew the extent he was evil to, but this was still a dirty trick to be playing. "I'm not evil, I'm just watching out for you. I want you to be healthy, okay?" Oikawa said with a frown, pouting even worse now. "Besides, you wouldn't want a teacher to find out that you've got a problem, do you?"

That was the moment that Tsukki stood up and went to the corner of the room where his stuff was. "That's it. I'm going back home," Tsukki said and Oikawa stood up, putting his hands up in defeat. Oikawa was evil but he wasn't evil enough to push Kei into going back home when his abusive father was there still.

"Wait, wait! I won't tell anyone at the school, but I do want you to try to gain a pound, okay? Please?" The tone in Tooru's voice actually sounded genuine. He knew that Oikawa was an actor and he was trained to have a certain deflection in his voice when he wanted to act a certain part. But Tsukki could tell that this was Oikawa being real. He could tell the difference with these things.

There were both pros and cons in this situation, no matter what he did. There would be pros or cons if he decided to do this or if he decided not to try. The pros to trying meant that Oikawa would be happy for a week and he would get Oikawa off his back about gaining weight. The cons were that one, if he failed, he would get Suga begging him to move in again and having to deal with that for a while. The other con was that he would have to actually eat until he felt full. If he decided not to do it, Oikawa would probably still tell Suga about the living situation and he would have to deal with Suga either way.

What was the boy to do?

"Fine, I'll try, okay? I'm not starting tonight, though. I'll start tomorrow when I've got a clear mind," Tsukishima said as he went back to his bed and threw himself down on the bed.

Apparently, that was enough for Oikawa. He smiled as he went back to the door. "Thank you, Tsukki-chan." Tsukki flinched again, but this time it was at the nickname, that Oikawa used on him. Oikawa knew that he hated it, so that was partly why he used it. It was also because of their relationship and the fact that Oikawa was older than Tsukki.

After a few hours, Tsukki went back out into the living room and he stretched out onto the couch, turning on the television. "Tsukki, I made dinner. We're eating, do you want to join us?" Suga asked from the dining room table.

That was a difficult thing to answer, simply because Tsukki wasn't in the mood to eat and he didn't feel like trying to start the Oikawa deal thing. "I'm okay, but thank you Suga-san. You two enjoy your dinner," Tsukki said as he went back to watching television.

There was a sigh and he knew that it came from Suga. Kei wondered briefly if Suga was picking up on the fact that he wasn't eating and if he was getting suspicious. It was likely to happen, but as far as Tsukishima knew, Suga didn't know about his eating disorder. It would fill up his guilt and he would stop hanging out at the couple's house if Suga did find out. The anxiety of letting Suga down was just far too great for him to handle. Knowing that he was upsetting Suga now and disappointing him was still an upsetting thing to know and adding to his guilty conscious.

After twenty minutes or so, the pair finished eating and excused themselves to their bedroom. Tsukki didn't want to know what was going on in their room, because he heard an odd squealing noise come from that way and it was concerning. Either way, Tsukki would excuse himself in a little while to go to bed. He was tired and he was ready to do this all again tomorrow. It was something he would have to get used to if he had any hope of graduating with the degree he wanted.

He retired to his bedroom and passed out, flinching awake when his alarm went off that next morning. Kei groaned as he made himself get up, eat breakfast, and then go for a run. He made himself not purge though, because he ate less that morning and he felt better than he normally would have. Oikawa was proud and Tsukki knew that Oikawa wanted to follow him to make sure he didn't purge, but Suga would get suspicious if that happened. But Tsukki didn't purge that morning. That morning and the rest of the day went nearly the same the previous day went.

Although, there was one thing that was different, and that was the fact that he actually had modern dance. Tsukki walked in after a tiring ballet class and he watched at the class gathered around in a group again. Being tall enough, Tsukki could tell that the person that they were circled around was once again, Yamaguchi. But this time, Yamaguchi wasn't doing hip hop. He was dancing to the style of modern dance and it was rather chilling to watch how Tadashi made this look good, even though he had no technique whatsoever.

"You know, I'm going to stop being nice if you keep showing how bad your technique is," Tsukki said when he was done. Tadashi let out an awkward laugh and he shrugged, going to watch other kids showing off and cheer them off. Tsukki just sighed as he sat himself down and started to stretch even more, even though he was pretty well stretched out from earlier and from his ballet class. It was strange for him to go to a class that took so much technique to a class that hardly took technique at all.

The teacher finally came in and it was a surprise to see a male dance teacher. Sure, Tsukki knew that there were male dancers and he was obviously trying to become a male dancer himself, but he just assumed that all of the dance teachers were female. Either way, he stood up when he walked in. "Okay class, we've got an easy day today. I'm sorry that I wasn't here yesterday, but my daughter was sick. Anyway, do you all know each other by now? Or do we need to go through introductions?" he asked.

Kei was thrown off. For one, when he read the name on the slip yesterday, he could have sworn it was a female name. But maybe they wrote down his daughter's name instead? Two, he was actually expecting to do introductions. But he knew all of these kids from his other classes by now, except for a few of them who were in a higher grade or just not in any of his other classes. Either way, he didn't care to get to know any of them. The less he knew about them, the less attached to them he would be and the less he would care about them. He was only attached to Yamaguchi because he kept learning more and more about him, which was something he wasn't used to. But they did have nearly all of their classes together. Although, he was confused that in the morning, he didn't see Yamaguchi and he could have sworn he would have been in the same class, since they had choreography together. Every other day was partnering, but Yamaguchi wasn't there.

"Okay, so we can just start with what we have to get done? I'm glad, because I've already missed a day. Okay, so please, gather around and get stretched out. Help others stretch too, okay?" he instructed and the man sat down and started stretching himself.

It wasn't very surprising that Tadashi wandered over to sit closer to him, but the more they hung around one another, the more annoyed Kei was becoming of him. "Do we really have to stretch? We just had ballet," Yamaguchi said, stretching out his legs while Kei was stretching out his back.

"The teachers don't know our schedules, and not everyone here had ballet last class, so it's probably more for them, anyway," Kei said as he stood up, stretching up straight and shaking himself out a bit. The class stretched for five minutes or so and the teacher instructed them to stand against the back wall.

Once the teacher was satisfied where everyone was standing, he walked to the other side of the room. "Okay, one at a time, I'm going to point to you and I want you to dance your way across the room, however you see fit. Any kind of dancing moves are welcome, but just move your body how you see fit. I'm going to put on a song and I'm going to expect you to dance to the beat of the song," he said.

It was a relief that he didn't have to go first, simply because he didn't want to be told he was going something wrong. He hated the idea of modern dance, even though there was a technique to it. It just seemed like there wasn't much technique to it at all and it was just dancers throwing their bodies around to display an emotion. Tsukki watched as others danced across the room and the teacher nodded, taking notes in a notebook. He pointed to Kei after a few went and Kei sighed, doing his best to dance his way across the room without watching the teacher. His moves were far too technical and definitely not what the teacher was looking for, but at least he had gotten it done.

Tadashi went after a few more students and this seemed to be his comfort zone. He threw himself on the ground and danced his was across the room while displaying as emotion as he possibly could. Kei was actually rather captivated by all of it and he enjoyed watching him move. He was kicking himself for liking something by the boy that was becoming his enemy and he felt the urge to yell or purge become stronger.

The class went on and the teacher asked the class to leap across the room and then copy his move a few times. It was an odd class, but they were definitely learning things that Kei really didn't realize they were. It was such a strange class, but it was finally over and the relief on Tsukishima's face when it was over was so strong. He couldn't stand this class and he would rather take tap dancing than this. At the very least, there was more technique involved in tap dancing. At least, there was more to other styles.

Finally, they were released to go and Kei really wanted to make himself not throw up. He really wanted to reach the goal that Oikawa had set for him, but today was just far too hard and the urge to make himself sick was getting to be too much. Another thing that he did differently today was eat lunch. It was a small lunch and it was just a lunch of rice and vegetables, but it was still sitting in his stomach and sure, it was fading, but the feeling wasn't fading fast enough.

Kei didn't want to purge in the bathroom back at home because he didn't want Oikawa or Suga to catch him. He also didn't plan on going back to his actual home for a little while, so purging at the school was the best option for all of this. He walked into a bathroom and he waited until students were all out. He checked his watch and he waited to walk into a stall until he knew that he next class was started. Sure, that wouldn't protect him from anyone walking in on him, but it would make it much less likely, like the time that Yamaguchi walked in on him.

It was a good thing that Yamaguchi hadn't said anything, but it was also the fact that Yamaguchi really didn't know that Tsukishima was making himself vomit. He remembered that he had told Yamaguchi that he just wasn't feeling well or something of the sort.

He was just glad that Oikawa was the only one that really knew about this. If his mom knew, if his brother knew, or god forbid that his dad knew, he wouldn't be allowed to go back to studying dance or college. They would make him go to rehab therapy or something of the sort to get better. Kei didn't want that, nor did he really want to admit that he had an issue. He didn't see it as an issue, he just saw it with the only way he knew how to cope.

Kei sat down on his knees and he put on his headphones again, which he made a habit of carrying around with him wherever he went. He put on a song and he masked the sound of him emptying out his stomach again. He pulled out his water, rinsed out his mouth, and he then drank more. He didn't mind drinking, and it gave him an idea on how he could gain weight. He could just drink his calories, couldn't he? It was an idea, anyway. He could go look up those shakes to make so he could gain weight. That way, if Suga asked him to eat, he could just show his shake and get out of eating. Hopefully, it would work. Hopefully, he could figure something out to make him gain weight and keep the pound on.


	3. Chapter 3

Taking a deep breath, Yamaguchi went back to his starting position and he took a seat there. This was exhausting, but he had to practice. This was the only way he was going to get any good at ballet and how he would prove his family wrong. He didn't want them to be right about this, which was why he absolutely had to practice.

Before starting his little ballet routine again, he heard a set of hands clapping. It was a single set of hands and they were clapMyping quickly. "Well done!" a voice cheered, which caused Tadashi to flinch and look up, moving from his starting position.

"Wh-who's there?" Yamaguchi asked as he stood up, stretching himself out and standing there awkwardly. There was movement from the far corner of the room and the shadows produced a shadow, who had moved forward and revealed herself.

The girl was very small and she had her blonde hair pinned up behind her head. There was a pen sticking out from her bun and Tadashi had to wonder why her hair was being held up like so. But either way, he was more concerned about who she was, not why her hair was pinned up like that. "Oh, I'm sorry. I was here late and I was just headed out when I saw the light on and I heard music playing. I'm in the music department and I just wanted to see who you were playing. But then I saw you dancing and I couldn't help but watch. You're incredible," she said, tilting her head and smiling.

That was a relief for Yamaguchi to hear, but at the same time, this girl wasn't a dance student and she didn't seem to know much about dance. Tadashi knew that he had so much to learn and improve on. "Ah, well thanks. I'm just practicing because ballet is my worst subject and the only way I'm going to get better is through practice," he said, putting his hand on the back of his head and holding it there. "I'm a dance student here. My name is Yamaguchi Tadashi," he said, walking closer to her closely.

The girl's smile was so sweet. There was something behind it that Yamaguchi couldn't quite place at the moment, but there was something else behind the smile that he wasn't exactly sure about. It just felt very misplaced. "Yachi. It's nice to meet you, Yamaguchi. You know, I don't expect you to help me out with this, but I'm supposed to put together this giant presentation and I was thinking that maybe you could be featured in the project? I would have to film you, so please say 'no' if that makes you uncomfortable."

It was such a random question and statement for Yamaguchi to be asked, but he tilted his head and shrugged a bit. "Yeah, I guess I can help you out. Want my number so we can talk about when and where... and what you need from me?" Yamaguchi asked, feeling his heart pound a bit. This time, it wasn't pounding from all of the work he had just done. It was beating quickly for a different reason.

Another smile had graced Yachi's lips and she nodded. Pulling out her phone, she handed it over to Yamaguchi, who put his number in her contacts and handed it back. "Just text or call me from there and I'll have your number," Yamaguchi said with a smile, taking a few steps back to his bag.

"Thank you, Yamaguchi!" Yachi had said as she turned around and left the studio space.

What neither of them knew was that Yamaguchi and Yachi's lives were going to get far too tangled up in the future. They were just starting their time together. Yamaguchi had a feeling inside of him about Yachi. He wasn't sure if it was a good or a bad feeling, but he decided to ignore it. What could be so bad about making a new friend, potentially?

 

\--

Why was it so early? Why couldn't Kei just keep on sleeping? He wasn't sure, but the morning came as such an uninvited guest and it seemed to make itself at home as Kei tried to bury his face under his pillow. At the very least, he knew he wouldn't have to deal with an unwanted mound of warmth burrowing his way under his blanket this morning. He was on his own at his own house. He knew that neither Oikawa or Suga wanted him to go home, but they didn't have a choice in the matter, and Tsukki left the night before, going to go see his mother and brother at home so he could tell them how classes were going. He also made sure his dad couldn't hear him as he told his important family about how his first few days had gone.

Either way, Kei had to wake himself up to go for a jog. He had to go get himself ready for the day, which was going to take more than he was ready for, but he would have to get ready for it.

After getting himself ready and going to the living room, he was greeted by the sight of his mother sleeping on the couch, all balled up under the thin blanket they left on the couch for decoration. It was a sad thing to see, because she deserved to be sleeping in the soft, big bed that she had worked hard to get. But Kei knew that his father was in there, probably hogging the entire bed. He wasn't sure what the reason was that his mother was out of bed this time around, but Kei wished his parents would call it quits so Kei wouldn't have to deal with his father anymore.

Going to the couch and reaching for Akiteru's jacket on the chair, he settled it over his mother and smiled to her, rubbing her arm gently before getting up to go out for his jog. It would be a short jog, but it was enough to get him ready for choreography class that morning.

The jog didn't take him long at all, but by the time he had gotten back home, he had reached for the door handle at his front door and he froze, listening to the yelling going on inside. "Why do you think he goes out for these jogs? He wants to stay fit so he can go on and be a dancer, which really isn't acceptable! I'm going to tell him how serious these jogs are so he can go on and stop doing them. He needs to get a respectful job for the future if he has any hope of being respectful. He can't get a respectful job if he still thinks he can be a dancer."

"He's just trying to stay fit! He doesn't want to gain weight now that he isn't doing swim club. Swimming in high school kept him fit and active, so leave him be," his mother defended. Kei sighed and he thought about what exactly he needed from inside the house, so he could debate on leaving without it. He was probably going to do that anyway just because he really didn't want to tolerate his parents arguing and he didn't want to deal with his dad yelling at him about his career choices. As far as his dad knew, he was registered at a community college, studying economics.

Kei looked down to his outfit and he groaned to himself. He wondered if he had other school clothes at Oikawa's and Suga's apartment that he could go grab. He really wasn't dressed for the day and he needed to get into other clothes so he could be ready for his dance classes.

Sighing as he reached for his phone, he decided to call up Oikawa and ask him if he could come over. He knew that Oikawa's answer was going to be yes regardless of what Tsukki's reason for coming over was, but he still wanted to give the boy fair warning. He didn't want to show up unannounced and walk in on Oikawa and Suga getting freaky in the apartment. It wouldn't be the first time he had walked in on them trying to have sex, but it was definitely something he didn't want to see again.

After giving Oikawa fair warning, he jogged his way to the apartment. His school bag was still at their house anyway, so he would have had to stop by to get it before class. He just wasn't planning on going over this early. Walking into the apartment, he was greeted with the sound of music, echoing through the space. "This doesn't fit though. What about... the fifth track?" Suga had asked from across the room.

Tsukki was glad to see faces that actually wanted to see him and would be happy that he was there. He was happy to hear talk that wasn't about him. They hadn't realized he was in the room yet, but he would make his presence known within a few minutes if they still didn't notice him. The song paused and Oikawa sighed, throwing up his hands and he looked like he was admitting defeat or something of the sort. He had glanced over to the front door, and Tsukki was greeted with a grand smile. "Hey, Kei. So what's up? Your parents are arguing again or something?" Tsukki had explained this all over the phone, but it seemed that Oikawa hadn't been paying too much attention.

Letting out a sigh, he nodded. "They were arguing over me wanting to be a dancer. My dad really just doesn't get it. He still doesn't want me to be a dancer, but my mom seems to be covering for me again. He still thinks I'm going to the community college, so I'd like to keep it that way if possible." Kei went to the couch and he decided to take a seat. It turned into sprawling out, just so Oikawa wouldn't sit next to him and try to touch him in any way. "Can I take a shower here? I went for a jog this morning and I'm sweaty."

The laugh that left Suga's lips made Tsukki look up and raise an eyebrow. "Do you really think we're going to say no to you?" Suga asked as he continued to look down to his phone. That was true, honestly. He could probably take a shower, do yoga nearly naked in their living room, and blare music before they would tell him no about anything. The pair seemed to really care about Tsukki.

"I'm just being nice and asking for your sake, Suga. If it was just Oikawa here, I wouldn't bother asking," Kei said with a smirk as he looked over to Oikawa, who had dropped his head and shook it at Kei's comment. He knew they were both just teasing him, which was why he didn't look that terribly sad. But he did fake the look well enough that anyone who wasn't familiar with him would believe it was a true look of sadness. That was just the actor in him.

Letting out a sigh as Oikawa sat on the floor, Kei decided to stand up and head to the shower. The chore didn't take too long, and Kei actually let Oikawa convince him to have a small bowl of cereal before they all left for classes.

They chatted along the way and Oikawa gave Tsukishima the feeling that he really wasn't in a great mood that morning, but hopefully the mood would clear up. They went their separate ways once reaching the college and the couple went towards the acting side of campus, where Kei wandered to the dancing side. He noticed that on the door of his classroom, they had posted the scheduling for the next half of this semester for the partnering class. Kei was actually rather intrigued by this class, but as he went through the list, he noticed that he and Yamaguchi were still in the same class. Not everyone from this choreography class were in the partnering class, nor were all the names familiar. Regardless, he would still have to work with Yamaguchi.

Stepping into the choreography classroom, Tsukki looked over the class and he went to the side with the desks, just because he remembered their professor saying they would be watching a presentation before they got started for the day. Letting himself stretch out, Tsukki let out a yawn that he wasn't sure where it came from. Maybe it was a sympathy yawn for the person that had walked in next.

Yamaguchi was the one to walk into the room next, and the boy looked so terribly tired. It was an unsettling sight and Tsukki started to feel bad for him. Why did he look so tired? What was wrong with the boy? When Yamaguchi had come into the room, he had stretched out and he looked over to Kei. It was just instinctual for Yamaguchi to be drawn to Kei now, so he walked over in that direction. "Morning," Yamaguchi had said as he took a seat next to Kei.

It was instinctual, but Kei had rolled his eyes as Tadashi seemed to lay down his head against the desk. "School hasn't been that tough yet. Why are you so tired?" he asked. It was just who Tsukki was, because he was always very passionate about school and he cared a bunch about it, particularly after this morning.

Yawning a bit, Tadashi lifted his head. "I was up late, practicing my ballet," Yamaguchi said. The boy dropped his head back down to the desk, seeming like he was dead. "After, I was texting with someone until four AM. So I've only slept for two hours."

That was obviously where the exhaustion was coming from. Tsukishima tried his best not to snort at this situation, simply because he didn't want to make himself seem like more of a jerk. More so than he already came across as, anyway. "How do you plan on making it through a day of dancing, then? We're starting one of our projects in here today and I can guarantee that we'll have to start dancing," Kei had said, letting out a bit of a snicker that Yamaguchi very clearly caught onto.

The tired boy sat up and stretched out. "I don't know, Tsukishima. Maybe you have some ideas for me. Either way though, I plan on making it through, one way or another." Tadashi seemed to be embodying a bit of sass in what he had said, which Kei could sense, due to how often he used sass in his own speaking and how much sass he had to deal with his other friends. He was just the sass and salt master, really.

Unfortunately for Kei, he didn't get the chance to say anything else, as the teacher had walked in and started to request attention of her students on the board in the front of the room. Kei would have said that Tadashi should just learn that he couldn't stay up too late like he had, just to text someone. Kei wasn't getting the whole story, but he felt like he had enough information to know that Tadashi didn't have to stay up as late as he had. For Kei, he sometimes had to stay up late for work, but that was totally different. He was helping his mother pay for his schooling, and the only job he could find that fit in his schedule was a job that started late at night. He worked for about three hours, got paid a decent amount, depending on the crowd of people, and he went home and gave the money to his mother.

As the video started, Kei reached a hand over and poked at Yamaguchi, who seemed to have already dozed off. Yamaguchi jerked awake and looked over to Kei with a bit of a glare, but Kei really didn't care. If Yamaguchi wasn't going to take care of himself, why should he care enough to take care of him? But Kei didn't realize, wasn't waking him up to watch the video actually taking care of him, rather than letting him sleep and get in trouble with the teacher? He didn't know, neither did he really care.

Finally, the video was over and the class was instructed to stand in the part of the classroom that was free. The teacher had just wanted the class to pick up on a dance and show her that they could actually follow instructions. Kei figured this would be a breeze, since the moves she demonstrated weren't exactly difficult. He seemed to pick up on the dance very easily. The rest of the class was doing about the same, but there were a few that struggled with the simple choreography and Kei was getting bored. Yamaguchi was one of the few that was struggling. It might have just been because he was exhausted, but Kei didn't care.

As they were dancing, Yamaguchi had stepped too far and was in Kei's space without realizing. They had to spin and turn with more movement, but because of Yamaguchi, Kei had run into the boy and nearly pushed him over, stumbling himself and causing the rest of the class to stop. "Tadashi!" Kei had yelled as he stood up straight and stared at him.

"I'm sorry, Tsukki!" Yamaguchi had said. For one, that nickname started to make Kei twitch. Two, Yamaguchi could have really injured him. So Kei had started to stalk towards him, giving him a look that looked very threatening and dangerous. It was dangerous, because Kei meant business.

Before Kei could get any closer, the teacher reached out and pulled Kei back, sighing gently to herself. "Yamaguchi, please be more careful. Kei, it was an accident. You're not perfect either, so I'm sure you're bound to make mistakes yourself. Relax, so we can continue and I can give your class info on the assignment I plan on giving you."

Letting the teacher win, Kei sighed and he relaxed himself, trying not to let this get to him more than necessary. "Yeah, okay," he murmured as he gave Tadashi one last look and went to stand back in his position.

After two more runs of the dance, the teacher had stopped and smiled to the class. "Alright, so we're going to be partnering up for an assignment. I'm going to pair you up with someone in the class that I believe can compliment your dancing well, and I'll have you guys decide on a style of dance and you'll have to come up with your own choreography. I have the full assignment on the pages here, so grab one on your way out, okay?"

As Kei went back to his desk to sit down, he watched as Yamaguchi came closer to him. "I really am sorry, Tsukishima. I guess I just wasn't fully aware of my surroundings and I had stepped further than I should have. Are you okay, though?" he asked as he sat back down at his desk. The teacher continued with choosing people to partner up for the assignment and Tsukishima was just hoping he would be partnered with someone that was easy to work with.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kei murmured as the teacher came closer to the pair.

"Good," Tadashi had said as he sad down in his own seat.

The teacher was holding a clipboard and she hummed as she looked up at the pair. "I'm going to pair the two of you together," she said as she started to write on her clipboard, presumably their names. Kei gave her a look and made a face that told anyone that he really wasn't okay with this. "The presentations will be-"

"I have to work with _him_?" Tsukishima said with such detest in his voice and he was unblinking, trying to figure out how this could have possibly happened. Tadashi shrugged a bit, but he did seem a little upset that Kei was making a big deal about working with him. Was he really that bad to work with?

The teacher sighed and she nodded. "I want you two to work together and come up with a choreography that suits both of your styles. Since Tsukishima, you're all about ballet and technique, and Yamaguchi, your style seems to be more free form and about feeling, it will be a good challenge for the two of you."

Kei had stood from his chair and gaped, looking back and forth between the teacher and Yamaguchi. "But this isn't fair! Wouldn't I be better suited to work with someone like... Toby? Or Grace?" he asked, looking towards the two of them before looking back to the teacher.

It seemed to be amusing to the teacher that Kei was arguing as much as he was. But he really didn't want to work with Yamaguchi. He didn't want to have more of a headache and get himself into bad dancing habits. He really didn't want to pick up on Yamaguchi's bad habits. "I've already paired them both up, and I think that you two will come up with something great. I just feel like the two of you can really create something good. So yes, I am going to have the two of you work together on this project."

This really didn't seem fair to Tsukishima and he was groaning through all of this. He was starting to get even more of a headache now. "You know, I can't stand this class as it is! Maybe I should just leave the class and find something else to fill my time with. There's still time to drop classes without having to pay for them," Kei said as he looked at the teacher with a hate-filled look. 

The teacher sighed and looked at Yamaguchi before back at Tsukishima, who was reaching for his bag. "I don't know of another beginner dancer course you can take that starts this early in the morning, nor do I think you can get into other classes without having taken this class first. So your only options is to work with Yamaguchi, or have to take this same class next semester because I failed you for having such an attitude and refusing to work with someone on this project. Yes, I can do that. It's your choice though."

Groaning to himself, Kei was contemplating so much at the moment. He was thinking about potentially trying to take another elective course, but he didn't want to have to mess up his current plan of finishing his major in four years. If was likely to get pushed to four an a half years if he dropped this course. But then he thought about the prospect of working with Yamaguchi, and it made him shiver.

What was he going to do? He didn't want to have to take one extra semester, but having to work with Yamaguchi really seemed like a bad option. The teacher and Tadashi were both waiting with baited breath to see what the blond boy would choose. The look on Kei's face turned to one of defeat as he jerked his bag over his shoulder. "Fine, I'll work with him, but you know I'm not going to be happy about it the entire time. I have half a mind to report you to the higher-ups of the school," Kei said in as threatening of a voice as he could muster, but wasn't going to really report her. To be honest, Kei didn't know if anyone would actually care about the situation he saw as unfair.

As Kei went to go grab the assignment sheet, he heard as Yamaguchi let out a bit of an awkward laugh and it seemed like the boy was following him out. That wasn't exactly what Tsukki had wanted, but he guessed it was better than having to sit and talk with him. He really just wanted to get out of the class as fast as he could and go talk with someone that actually cared. He wondered if Oikawa or Suga really cared. He was sure they cared to an extent, but maybe Kei was just overreacting to this situation. Was he?

As he walked himself to psychology, he met eyes with someone that he was actually happy to see. He hadn't exactly made friends with the older boy, but Kuroo was someone he could see having ranting sessions with, and someone he could come to if he was having an issue of any kind. Kuroo would probably at least pretend to care. The thing about Oikawa and Suga was that he knew they either cared, or would pretend to care, but he would always tell himself that they didn't actually care and they were just tolerating his ranting because for some reason, they kind of had to. Kei actually didn't care to think about the logic of that.

The black-haired boy walked across the room and sat down on Tsukki's desk as Tsukki made a home in the chair. He was just about to start talking when Kuroo made a face and he frowned a bit. "What's wrong, buttercup?" he asked. Apparently, Kuroo could sense that Kei wasn't having a great time, and he was troubled with something. Or, he could just tell that there was something off. Either way, it was actually kind of nice to feel like someone actually cared. Sure, Oikawa would make those affectionate names with him as well, and he would try to show Kei his undivided attention, but for some reason, it just didn't have the same affect on Kei anymore.

Letting out a sigh, Kei threw his head back and it nearly made his glasses fly off. "Choreography class was just a mess today. Honestly, I don't know why I'm still here," Kei said. Yamaguchi had walked in at that moment and Kei shot him a look, but Yamaguchi was glued to his phone again. He looked to be texting once more, and it really didn't surprise Tsukki to see him texting again. What was his issue with that damned phone?

"Tell me about it, love! I want to know all about what was so bad!" Kuroo said, moving in closer so Kei didn't have to speak so loudly.

As Yamaguchi came closer, Tsukishima couldn't keep his eyes off of him. It was also kind of where Tadashi sat too, so it wasn't a surprise to see him make his way towards the corner of the room they were in. But Kei would have figured that after the way he treated Yamaguchi in choreography today, he would want to sit somewhere else. It didn't bother Kei slightest to be talking about Tadashi when he was so close, either. So Kei turned his eyes back to Kuroo and sighed.

If Kei had to guess, Tadashi was too engrossed into his texting conversation to care about what Kei had to say anyway. "Well, I was forced to partner with someone I don't want to work with, just because he made a mistake today! I don't like the idea of working with him, and I certainly don't want to have to work on a project with him! His dance style is just so different than mine! How are we supposed to come up with something that actually works for the presentation?" Kei was still talking loud enough for Tadashi to hear, and honestly, he didn't care if he heard.

There was a startled sound that came from Yamaguchi and Kei thought that it was a reaction to what Kei had said. Kuroo pouted a bit and tilted his head. "You have to work with someone you don't want to work with just because of their mistake? That just seems unfair! Why can't you work with someone else who has a ballet background or someone that has a similar work ethic to you?" Kuroo said. It felt to Kei that he actually cared, and that was why he appreciated Kuroo so much at the moment.

"My thoughts exactly! But she said that she had already paired everyone up or something, and she was interested to 'see what we could come up with'. Whatever that means..." Kei threw his head back and groaned. The rest of the class was piling in and the classroom was loud with chatter.

It seemed like Kuroo was getting too far invested into this whole thing with Kei, and even though Kei was appreciative of the gesture and having someone to listen to him, he actually felt a little bad that he was unloading all of this onto Kuroo. "Well, get through this project and make it seem like it was a hassle to work with whomever this person is so the teacher doesn't pair you two up again." Kuroo had pushed himself off the desk and stood up, stretching out his lanky body.

Looking Kuroo up and down, he nodded with a sigh, looking over to Yamaguchi again. "He's right there," Kei said. Yamaguchi had actually looked up at that and gave a confused look before he went straight back to his phone, typing away. Kei wondered what the conversation could have been about, because Yamaguchi was actually displaying a rather worrisome look. He looked upset or frightened by something.

Letting out a laugh, Kuroo shrugged. "You have zero chill, don't you? I kind of like that," Kuroo said as he winked. "I like you, buttercup. But you can always talk to me, so whatever other problems you have, we can talk about them some other time."

Walking away, Kei watched as Kuroo went to go sit down with his other friends. Kei actually wondered briefly why he didn't just go join them and leave Tadashi to sit alone in the corner, but Kei wasn't sure if he was actually invited to go sit with them. He also didn't like sitting in the front of the room usually, which was why he sat in the back.

Finally, Tadashi pulled his face away from his phone and he looked around, before seeing Kei looking at him. "Kei, I'm sorry we have to work together and I'm sorry I knocked you over earlier, but... do you think we can just make the best of this? I don't want to fail the project just because we can't find a way to work together."

Those were actually very mature words and Kei felt bad about how he had behaved, honestly. He felt kind of childish about how he had behaved with Yamaguchi and he felt kind of bitchy for how he ranted about this whole situation to Kuroo, whom he hardly knew. Why did he rant about Yamaguchi and how he was being treated in choreography when one, it really wasn't anyone's business, and two, he didn't really know the person he ranted about the situation to?

Frowning a bit, Kei had sighed and sat up a little straighter. "Yeah, I guess we can try. I haven't even looked over the project, to be honest. But I know it's going to involve a lot of communication and I don't think we can do it while just being in class together. So we should probably exchange numbers."

It was a good idea, Yamaguchi thought, and he nodded as he opened his phone, offering it over to Tsukishima. "Here, you can add your number. I can just text you if you want so you have my number too, or I can put my number in your phone." It felt to Tadashi that he was actually getting a tad popular and he kind of enjoyed the feeling of actually getting numbers of people. Sure, it was only two people in the last twenty-four hours, but it was still a nice feeling to have.

As Kei put his number in Yamaguchi's phone, he saw as a text had come up on his notification bar. He didn't want to snoop too much, but he really was curious about what the conversation Tadashi was having was all about and why he was texting during class like this. The text had read:

_You have to be more careful, Yams. It's good that they did..._

That was where the notification had cut off and it was such a bad place. Yamaguchi was watching him though, so Kei really couldn't sneak into his texts and try to read more. As he finished, he handed the phone back and nodded. "Just text me. Oh, and someone named... Dadchi texted you? Shouldn't it be Daichi?" Kei asked and that was definitely an interesting name to see for a contact.

Yamaguchi had flushed a bit and he smiled, letting out a bit of a laugh. "Yeah, it's a long story, but he's the dad of the group, really. Daichi is his real name but... It's just always been that way, I guess. He's always taken care of us. That's what he's doing now." Yamaguchi went back into his phone. Before he went to text Daichi though, he composed a text to Kei and sent the message, just so they could have each other's numbers to communicate about the project they had to work on.

After a moment, Yamaguchi had gotten another text. The class was starting and the teacher was passing out assignments for the next week. Yamaguchi grabbed one and he stood up, excusing himself to the front of the class where the teacher was sitting. "Sir, I... am so sorry, but I have to leave class. I know that it just started, but my apartment was broken into and I just found out that other things happened. You can mark me as absent or anything you need, but I really just can't stay..."

So that was what all of the texting had been about when Yamaguchi had come into the classroom. That was also the conversation that had been happening when Kei crept a look at the conversation. He felt back for creeping a look now, and he frowned a little, knowing that Yamaguchi was going through so much. Kei felt for him.

Unfortunately, the boy had to leave and Kei couldn't apologize to him, but now that he had Yamaguchi's number, he certainly would text him to apologize. Although, he wondered what Yamaguchi would say to know that Kei actually felt bad about this situation. Their relationship was already so complicated, and they seemed to be dancing between the two extremes lately. Between actually liking one another and not caring what the other was doing, to the feeling of detest and hate. So maybe, Kei just shouldn't bother with it.

It made Kei shrug and he would certainly have to tell this to Oikawa and Suga later. But he wasn't too sure about telling Kuroo, now that he had actually come to the conclusion that Kuroo didn't need to know about the lives of someone that Kei hardly knew, when Kei hardly knew Kuroo. He wouldn't divulge the information to Kuroo, just because he didn't want to spread the information around. Tsukishima wasn't even technically supposed to know, he didn't think, but the rest of the class could have also overheard the conversation, if they hadn't been talking. Some of the others really could have heard as well, but Kei wasn't too terribly sure about that.

Psychology class was actually interesting that day, and if it had been any other day or situations had been different, Tsukishima would have liked the class and paid more attention. But really, his mind was just one Tadashi and he really just felt bad that things were going so poorly for him. Now, Tadashi really didn't feel the same way and if he had even an ounce of an idea of what Tsukki was going through, he would feel as if the role was actually reversed. Tadashi didn't want others to have pity on him, nor did he really care that he was having a rough time with the whole break in thing at the moment.

It was just how Yamaguchi was, although Kei wouldn't discover that for quite some time.

As Kei walked himself to his next class, he was glad to see that Oikawa and Suga were there, and he went straight to them to see if he could squeeze in a conversation. They did seem busy, but Suga looked over to Tsukki and let out what seemed to be a sigh of relief. "Here, you tell him. I can't get this through to him. Does this, or does this not, fit a war scene in the late 1800s?" Suga pressed play on his phone and a song started to play. It seemed as though the song was more fitting for a battle in a more ancient time. Tsukishima snorted a bit and he wondered what Oikawa's side of this whole deal was and who thought it sounded like a song that fit the century that Suga had mentioned.

"It honestly sounds more like a song that the ancient Romans would be fighting to, but good effort," Kei said as he took a seat in one of their chairs. The class wouldn't start for another ten minutes anyway, so he had time to waste. "Do you guys have a minute or are you still trying to finish your lecture stuff?"

It seemed like Oikawa was the one to think that the song was fitting, but he groaned when Suga had won the battle, simply because Suga had smirked at Kei's words. "Oh, this is for a different class. We've got your lecture all set up. I guess it's lucky for you that you know the teachers and can ask for help on the homework we assign tonight," Suga said with a wink as he reached over to Oikawa, who really didn't seem to want to be touched, but he relaxed into Suga anyway.

"What do you want to talk about?" Oikawa asked in a glum voice. He wondered what exactly Oikawa's issue was right now, but he honestly felt as though he shouldn't try to put even more stress on the boy, so Tsukishima hummed and straightened up.

It wasn't like Kei to really care about other people, which was why it was odd for him to even want to talk about this Yamaguchi situation in the first place. But now he was caring about Oikawa too, and he just wondered if Oikawa was going through something else that he wasn't talking about. It was a thing between Oikawa and Tsukishima, really. Oikawa always pushed Kei to talk, but the moment that Kei tried to push Tooru into talking about what was going on in his life, he would brush it off. That was why Kei wasn't going to push the matter.

That was also why Kei wasn't going to unload his current issues with Tadashi onto Oikawa and expect advice. That was what Suga was good for, but Oikawa was there too, so he would just have to wait for a moment that he got Suga alone and could talk about all of this. "Eh, it's really nothing. I'm just having problems with a teacher, but I'm sure it will sort itself all out shortly." That was only part of the problem and Kei was trying to make it seem like he wasn't as worried about this problem, so Oikawa wouldn't have to worry about the situation more.

Class would be starting soon anyway, and Suga reached an arm out to Oikawa, seeing that something was really bothering him. "Hey, it's okay. He's going to be fine. You know him, he's just another accident waiting to happen. That accident was today. But your sister said that she got the results back and there was nothing wrong." Apparently, Kei really was missing something and he would have to hear what was going on in Oikawa's life later. Or, Suga would tell him now. "Sorry, Kei. Tooru here woke up to a text from his sister that said his cousin was in a car accident while in Hong Kong. She also said he was fine and I believe her, but Oikawa just hasn't been in a great mood since finding out."

So that was what it was all about. Apparently, today was just a day of bad news. Kei gave Oikawa a hug and went to go sit for class. The class passed on by and Kei made it through the rest of his day. Fortunately enough, he made through all of class without having a purging moment. Then again, he really hadn't eaten more than the bowl of cereal for breakfast. Unfortunately though, Yamaguchi wasn't there for the rest of his classes, but Kei would see Yamaguchi soon, he thought. It was going to be much sooner than anyone would have thought, or would have wished to happen, but they would see each other before the day was up.


	4. Chapter 4

This wasn't the situation that anyone had wanted to be in. This really was unfortunate, and Yamaguchi felt horrible for the entire thing. If it was up to him, he would have gotten three jobs and continued with school anyway. It seemed that Daichi and the rest were okay if Yamaguchi got one job, and Noya was expecting some kind of payment for the things he had lost, but the other boys were trying to reconcile Noya and get him into a better place mentally. They really just wanted Yamaguchi to focus on school.

There was a much bigger list of things that they had lost than what Daichi had told him over text. The things that the thief had gotten away with had been Noya's collection of music, Tanaka's fancy and very expensive stereo, Daichi's small television, Ennoshita's very useful blender and other kitchen appliances, some nicer-looking jackets and clothing of all of the boys and Yamaguchi had been missing more clothes than the rest, Asahi's camera for recording their performances, and they made off with the cash box that everyone put money in to contribute to the rent and other needs around the house.

It was such an unfortunate thing to happen. Daichi had immediately reported the robbery to the police, but they weren't always the most reliable of people and they had told them to report it with their house-renter's insurance company, which they hadn't had. So, they were going to be left having been robbed, with no one really being able to help them.

Currently, Yamaguchi and Tanaka were waiting outside of Tanaka's sister's workplace. It seemed rather busy at the moment, but they really didn't want to hang around for too long anyway. Really, if they had things their way, they would have Saeko come out and meet them, but she was busy inside. "I wish we could have met with her at any other time, at any other place," Ryuu had said with a groan.

Saeko worked at a strip club. It was a really nice one, and it was very discreet it seemed. No one would know that it was a strip club until they walked into the building. No one would realize that Saeko managed boys and a few girls to dance on poles to make money for a club. Even on the inside, it was rather classy, but the atmosphere did change.

As Yamaguchi pulled open the door, Ryuu walked in and sighed, shaking his head and doing his best not to look at the men that were busy dancing around. Yamaguchi knew that Ryuu just felt bad for his eyes wandering because he was in a relationship with Ennoshita. Both boys would deny it and no one in their little group, or 'family', even knew the truth for certain, but Ryuu told Yamaguchi things that he told nobody else, so even though Ryuu had never said that he was in a relationship with Ennoshita, the way Tanaka talked about the other boy was very suspicious.

It was night, when both boys were free. Yamaguchi had offered to go with Tanaka because school was slow and he felt bad for being the reason that they had to go ask for handouts anyway. They were visiting with Saeko because they all knew that Saeko made more than enough money at the strip club, and they were coming to her to ask if they could potentially borrow some money. They were absolutely going to pay her back, because they all knew that Saeko would hold it over all of their heads if they didn't pay her back. But they were in a tight spot right now, and their rent was due in just a few days.

The person they were looking for was standing by the stage and she was talking to a guy about something to do with the club. But when she saw that the boys were there, Saeko excused herself and waved the boys over towards the back. "Hey guys, how's it goin'?" Saeko had asked softly. A rather loud cheer had made the two boys flinch and Saeko had just laughed, running her hands through her hair. "Sorry boys, I guess you're just not used to that. My boys get so many cheers, though, and you'd be surprised at what their take home can be."

Yamaguchi was still in the process of looking for a job, but he truly couldn't see himself being a pole dancer and stripper. It was one thing to dance on stage and do the pole dancing, but he also didn't see any kind of dignity in that type of job. He also wasn't particularly sure what kind of dancing the pole dancer was really doing. Was it really that difficult?

As Ryuu had a conversation with his sister, Yamaguchi moved a little closer to the stage and watched as the dancer on the stage spun around the pole in the middle of the stage. He had actually started to climb up it, using his arms, and Yamaguchi rolled his eyes. There really was nothing too difficult about that. With a little bit of arm strengthening, anyone could do that.

But then, the guy had flipped himself up on the pole and he had gotten a cheer from the crowd. He was upside down by now and he had wrapped his legs around the pole. Once again, Yamaguchi didn't think that could be all that hard, but that was also coming from someone who had upper and lower body strength all around, since he was a dancer.

When the dancer had let go with his arms, though, and started to slide down the pole slowly, wiggling his way with his legs, that was when Tadashi was actually impressed. That did take strength and coordination to move at will on the pole like that. Initially, he didn't think pole dancing could possibly be that hard. But now, he had a new thought about all of that. If all pole dancers moved like this, they had to have a bit of strength to know how to do it.

Ryuu had come up behind Yamaguchi and sighed, shaking his head. "She's got to go out back to handle something with one of her guests," Ryuu had said as he looked at Yamaguchi. It seemed like the boy was sweating and Tadashi was starting to get worried about his friend, the one that had treated him like a brother more than anyone else had in their little group.

Shrugging, Yamaguchi looked back at the stage and was saddened to think that the dancer had finished up. If they hadn't been at the club to beg Ryuu's sister for help on their rent, Yamaguchi would have thrown a few dollars on the stage. It was dirty, the way these dancers got their money, but it was also a rather hard thing to do as a job. Yamaguchi had started to gain more respect for them. Although, he had wondered why none of these people were at his dance school for a moment. Maybe they were, but he just didn't recognize them, or they just weren't in one of his dance classes.

At that moment, Saeko had come back and groaned a bit. "Sorry, guys. So, Ryuu, I need to ask you for a favor. There's this heavy case of alcohol on my desk in the back. Could I have you move it back to the cooler? I'll write the check while you do that," she had said as she pulled her purse out from a hidden compartment under a podium. Yamaguchi wondered how much trust she had to have in these people, but it was her purse and belongings, so it was all of her responsibility.

Letting out a groan, Ryuu had no choice but to agree because of what she was doing for them. As Ryuu headed off to go move the alcohol, Saeko began writing the check. "Hey, so how's school going, babes?" she asked, giving Yamaguchi a smile.

It wasn't that school was going poorly. It also wasn't that he didn't enjoy it, but if he was going to be honest, school was stressful. "Oh, it's going okay, I guess. I'm being forced to partner up with this guy on a project, though, that hated me on my first day, and I'm wondering how well that project is really going to go. Honestly, I think he needs to loosen up a little."

As if Saeko understood completely what Yamaguchi was talking about, she nodded and put her hand on his shoulder. "You know, if he needs to loosen up, he could always come here," she said with a wink.

"And what, critique all the pole dancers for their lack of technique and how easy it is to throw your body around on the stage without a proper choreography?" Yamaguchi asked, letting out a bit of a laugh. The moment that Kei would willingly step into a strip club like this one would be the moment that Yamaguchi's whole world crumbled. The thought of Kei even thinking about going to a strip club was comical.

Saeko shrugged and sighed. "Or, you know, make him dance on the pole and see just how difficult it really can be. I'm ashamed to say that I've tried and what these dancers do is so incredible that I'd take years to just manage what they can do, and only the basics."

It was such a mental image for Yamaguchi to have at the moment, and his mind was invaded with the thought of Kei actually pole dancing at the moment. Now, if Kei had actually tried it, he would have to admit that it did take proper talent and technique. But the thought of Kei actually trying to pole dance was a comical sight in Tadashi's brain at the moment.

Turning his head to look at Saeko, he let out a bit of a laugh. "Thanks for the offer, but I'll just manage him my own way I think. He's an interesting character, but I doubt he'd want to try pole dancing as a career." The image was still in Yamaguchi's head and it was such a funny thing to think about.

Right at that moment, Ryuu had come back and let out a huff of air. "You weren't kidding, that case was heavy. It's all in the cooler though," Ryuu said as he came closer to the pair. The music changed and there was an announcer over the speaker to announce the next dancer. Apparently the stripper's name was Angel, and the announcer had said it was because of said dancer's golden locks and 'angelic dance moves.'

Apparently, the thought of Kei stripping and being a pole dancer was still on his mind, because Yamaguchi had imagined Kei coming out instead of whoever the man was that had come out. When he thought he had just made it all up in his head, Yamaguchi just shook his head once and blinked his eyes quickly before turning to look at Ryuu and Saeko. They were just discussing the check and it was still a boring conversation, so Yamaguchi turned back to the pole dancer to see what he was going to do.

The boy had started to strip off his thigh-high boots and he was going it in such an attractive way that Yamaguchi felt a blush coming to his cheek. The crowd was also loving it, and the cash was flying onto the stage. As the hand came up to bite teasingly on a finger, Yamaguchi had to do a double take a what he had saw. That face... that blond hair... how tall the boy was...

There was no mistaking it. Yamaguchi was watching the one boy that he had just been speaking about. "He's one of our best, you know. He's got professional dance training and he drives the crowd wild with his dance moves and with how he uses the pole." Saeko had come behind Yamaguchi at that moment to explain, and Yamaguchi was just captivated at the moment. His mouth was on the floor. One, it was just such a surprise at the moment. He couldn't believe that Kei was actually there, pole dancing to pop music and stripping for a crowd of boys and girls. Two, the boy was actually /good/ at doing this, it seemed. Even Saeko had said he was one of their best dancers.

Now, Yamaguchi didn't doubt that Kei was good at pole dancing, simply because he was a dancer and already had strength to do things. But the fact that he was good at teasing the crowd and decent at all of this was what surprised Yamaguchi the most. "Yeah, wow... he really is good," Yamaguchi said quietly, his face going flushed and heating up, all the way down to his collarbones. If it had been anything else, or anyone else, it would have been less of a big deal. But this was just knowledge that Tadashi was having an issue wrapping his mind around.

It took Ryuu clearing his throat for Yamaguchi to flinch and look back at the pair. He was having such a hard time with focusing when Tsukishima was dancing on stage, and he was going to need an explanation for that later. But for right now, Kei was dancing on stage and really didn't seem to be able to talk. It seemed like Kei was in a groove right now, too, so Yamaguchi didn't want to distract him, or even let him know that he had seen Kei. That would be saved for a later day.

"We should get back, Yams. Daichi had plans for dinner and he would be pissed if we missed it," Ryuu said before looking back at his sister. "Thank you, again. You can expect your money in a few weeks, we just have to save up for next week and then pay off the rent this week. We can't be late again, because the landlord would kick us out."

Nodding and leaning against the stage, Saeko smiled. "Don't worry about it. Just get back on your feet, and teach this one here to be better about locking the door," she said as she motioned to Yamaguchi, who was back to watching Kei, who was spinning around the pole so effortlessly, only using his legs. Kei really was good at this. Tadashi was just so amazed.

Sighing and nodding, Ryuu put his arm around Yamaguchi and got him to look away from Kei, who was still on stage. "We'll see you soon, I'm sure. Have fun tonight," Ryuu said as he pulled Yamaguchi towards the door. Tadashi was completely captivated by what Kei was doing on stage, but he knew he had to look away.

Once the pair hit the cool air outside and were free from the hassle of in doors, Tanaka let out a bit of a chuckle. "You seemed to have caught your eyes on something. You know, if you wanted to try it, none of us would judge. Well, other than Asahi maybe. He wouldn't be judging you, but he would be freaking out about all of the other dancers and how they take off their clothes," he said with a booming laugh.

That wasn't why Yamaguchi was gawking at the stage, though. He wasn't going to tell Tanaka about it, nor was he going to tell the other boys, simply because he knew better than to give his family juicy information like this. It was something private and Yams had to guess that Kei probably wanted to keep this side of him quiet. "No, it's not that I want to try it, I was just... impressed by what I saw on the stage. I never realized how much work pole dancers had to put in, and that there's actually technique to their dance moves," he said with a shrug.

As the boys walked towards their house, Yamaguchi's phone buzzed, so he had to do the good thing and check to see who had texted him. It was just Daichi, telling them to hurry back for dinner. "Daichi is starting to nag about dinner again, so we should probably hurry," Yamaguchi said with laugh, sliding his phone back in his pocket. "I'll race you," Yamaguchi said with a wink before he started running, not giving Tanaka a fair chance. Although, he knew that if he didn't get a head start, Tanaka would beat him for sure. Catching Tanaka off guard during races was the only way to beat him.

\---

The night was long. Kei had to put on three encore shows for all of the customers, and they were still willing to pay, so Kei couldn't turn them down. It was the fourth show that he had to say no to, though, because the club was already an hour passed when they were meant to close.

Sighing as he counted his money, he smiled to think that he could put most of this in his mother's wallet when he went back. Tonight, though, he was staying with Oikawa and Suga. His dad was still home and even though he was going to be leaving in a day or so, Kei really just wanted to avoid seeing him at all costs.

Luckily enough, his friends understood and they left their front door unlocked for Kei. They weren't even asleep yet when he had gotten back, and it was kind of unfortunate, because Kei really didn't want to tell them about his night. He really just wanted to get to bed. But he told them about his shows, and he actually showed him how much money he had made that night. "You two are lucky that the school pays for this place," Kei said, but he still handed Suga a few bills, which he instantly declined. Kei ate their food, so he felt bad that Suga wouldn't take the money.

He knew that Oikawa wouldn't take it either, so he didn't bother trying there, either. "Give it to your mom and get yourself something you want, okay? We're fine. I have a job, Suga has his work study job with the school, so we're fine, Tsukki-chan."

Groaning, Kei just decided to give up and he went towards the bedroom that he was sleeping it. The couple decided that Kei needed his rest before class tomorrow and they would leave him alone for the rest of the night.

It wasn't until the next morning that Kei had a headache, anyway, which was usually how it happened when he had work the night before. He knew that he really should have tried to work more hours and he should do his best to pay his mom back for everything that she has done for him, but Kei didn't know if he could manage it with his schooling and everything he had going on. He knew his mom always told him that he didn't have to, but Kei really just felt like he had to at times.

Once he had gotten ready for the day and the three boys walked to class, he groaned when Oikawa kissed his temple and tried to shoo him away. "Do you have to be such a parent?" Kei asked as he watched the couple walk away towards their theater wing, while he stayed in the dance wing. Honestly, Kei knew he gave the two of them more crap than they deserved, but if they ever needed anything, they knew he would be there in an instant and do whatever it was they needed.

Walking into class and seeing Yamaguchi was something that he wasn't entirely ready to see, since the day before their weekend break, he had disappeared to some emergency, which Kei kind of felt bad about, but he really didn't want to pry into any of that or get more involved. Either way, he did a double take when he saw Tadashi, who was in a rather cheery mood for that morning already. "Uh, hi?"

It seemed like he was snickering a little, but Kei just let it slide and went to sit down next to him. "Well hey, Kei. How are you, how was your weekend?" Yamaguchi asked with a smile still plastered on his face and he was really curious about what exactly it was that Yamaguchi was smiling about. Did Kei have something on his face? It wouldn't surprise him if Tooru had put lipstick on before kissing Tsukki's temple.

Once he sat down in his chair and set his bag down, the boy turned to look at Yamaguchi. "It was typical, I guess? How was yours?" Kei wasn't really that interested in this answer, although he did still want to know how his emergency turned out.

"Oh, it was... well, I mean, it wasn't the best, but I found out something really cool this weekend," Yamaguchi said with a grin that couldn't have gotten bigger if he had tried his hardest. It seemed like he was trying still, but at the same time, there really wasn't a way for it to get bigger, unless he had cut the corners of his lips.

Was Yamaguchi going to tell Kei what he was smiling about? This was really unsettling to see how the boy was just sitting there, smiling at him like he had this big surprise for Tsukishima, whom he hardly knew. "What... did you find out?" Kei asked with a raised eyebrow. This was going to make his headache even bigger, he could tell.

At that moment, Kei didn't realize just how right he was about the headache getting worse.

Scooting closer, Yamaguchi looked around to see if anyone was listening. They didn't seem to be listening, he noticed, so he turned his eyes to Kei and kept his smile on his cheeks. "What did you do last night? Where were you?" he asked in a whisper.

That question seemed to be a bit private, and what did this have to do about what Yams had found out? Kei narrowed his eyes and tried to play confused, he also wasn't aware that Tadashi had seen him at work last night, so he shrugged a bit. "I had to work. Why?" Kei asked.

Luckily enough for them, class still hadn't started and the teacher was late, so they could keep talking about all of this. "Where do you work?" Tadashi asked and his smile turned a bit devilish, if Kei had to put a label on it.

This was such an invasion of his privacy, Kei thought, and he leaned back a little to look Yamaguchi over a little closer. "What does this have to do anything? I was at work last night, why do you care where I work?" Kei asked, crossing his arms. He sure as hell wasn't going to tell Yamaguchi that he worked at Black Cats, the local strip club. There was no reason that he had to know.

Tadashi let out a laugh and leaned back himself. "It has to do with everything, and what I found out this weekend. Kei, I saw you at work," he said with a bit of a wink.

Those words set Kei into a frenzy. His entire world shattered and he froze, his mouth gaping open just a bit. Yamaguchi saw him at work? What the hell was Yamaguchi doing at a strip club on a Sunday night? Kei picked his schedule with the perverted students in mind, so he was least likely to see the kids that he went to school with.

The entire world froze and Yamaguchi leaned in a little closer. "So, I repeat... what's your job again?

It was the teasing note to his voice, the way Yamaguchi seemed to be enjoying the fact that he was tormenting Tsukishima. Was he enjoying this? Did Yamaguchi want to blackmail him over this? This was probably one of the worst things he could possibly come to school to in the morning. "No..." Tsukishima gasped as the teacher walked in. It was right at that moment that Tsukishima got up and yanked Yamaguchi to stand, whether or not he wanted to. The teacher was instructing everyone to stand, but Kei wasn't going to let his entire world shatter just because fucking Yamaguchi saw him at work.

"We're g-going to the bathroom," Kei murmured to the teacher as he pulled Yamaguchi out the door. The teacher sighed, but just told them to hurry back.

That was exactly where Tsukki was going to take Yamaguchi, to talk to him about all of this. Kei couldn't think of a word to say before he got in the bathroom. When Kei saw that there was no one in the bathroom, he locked the bathroom door and he paced to the other wall, shaking his head. "What you saw... Yamaguchi, what exactly did you see?" he asked as he turned back around to face Yamaguchi, who had such a devious smirk on his face.

Nothing about this was funny.

Letting out a hum, Yamaguchi smiled. "Well, I was at the strip club, the one called... Black something. Cats, I think? Due to my emergency, I was visiting a friend that could help bail my family out, and I think you might know her. Her name is Tanaka Saeko. She manages you, I think. Anyway, I came in time to see you perform up on stage and get yourself all undressed, other than the flimsy little cloth around your-"

"Enough! Oh my god... Oh my god..." Kei said as he pressed his hands against his face, trying to hide the embarrassment of what he had just discovered. This was so terrible. How was he ever going to come back from this? How many other people knew? That was when Kei pulled his hands away and watched as Yamaguchi was snickering against his hand. This couldn't have gone worse right now. "Who... who else knows?" Kei asked in a weak voice.

Honestly, Kei really wanted to go throw himself off of a cliff. He wanted to go set himself on fire. Tadashi's smile faded and he rose an eyebrow. "You think... Oh, no one! Tsukishima, I didn't tell anyone about this. I went with another family member to go visit the club to go see my friend, but I didn't even tell him about you dancing onstage. No one else knows. Just me," he said softly.

The relief that coursed through him made Kei's legs feel like giving out, and he stumbled a bit, reaching to hold onto a sink. "Oh thank god..." Kei said in a whisper, shaking his head a bit and trying to wrap his head around all of this still. So Yamaguchi knew, but he hadn't told anyone about the shameful job he had to hold. But that was when it hit Tsukki. "Wait... Are you... what do you want? For your silence? What do I have to do to keep you quiet about all of this?" Kei asked, slowly pushing himself to stand up.

It seemed like Yamaguchi's smile was gone now, as if he was realizing the gravity of the situation that he had on his hands. The situation really did hold a lot of gravity, and Yamaguchi had all of the power in his hands. He could either be nice to Kei, or he could hold this over his head. "Kei... I don't plan on telling anyone about this. I know it has to be personal and you do it because you need a job. Just because I know that you're a stripper, doesn't mean I'm going to go tell everyone I know. That's why I didn't tell any of my family about it, even though they kind of know who you are because we are in classes together and you're my partner. They don't need to know."

Feeling the weight of the world fall off of his shoulders, Kei let out a sigh of relief and he leaned against the sink still, catching his breathing. "I'm begging you right now, Yamaguchi... I am begging you to keep this quiet. I'm not really ashamed to have this job because... well, what pole dancers do is hard work and they have to have so much strength to do the things that you see. But at the same time, I know that the kids in class would tear me apart and make so many jokes if they knew... They would hold it over my head and they would never let it go."

Now Yamaguchi was feeling kind of bad about feeling smug about all of this. He really couldn't explain why he had thought this was a good idea at the beginning, but he really had wanted Kei to know that he knew. Sure, he could have kept the knowledge to himself and let Kei go on thinking that his secret was safe, but Yamaguchi just thought that maybe this could bring them closer together, knowing more about each other. They did have to put on a big dance at the end of the year as one of their final projects.

"Kei, I really don't know why I had thought this was a good idea, but... I'm sorry, okay? You don't have to worry about me telling anyone. Your secret is safe with me. I wouldn't dream about telling anyone. If you want, I can... tell you a secret, so if I do tell someone, you can tell someone my secret." Yamaguchi was really just feeling so guilty about how smug he was about all of this. He wasn't too terribly opposed with sharing things with Tsukishima, particularly because Yams had learned one of Kei's secrets.

The thought seemed to process through Kei's mind, and he hummed for a moment, wondering what could possibly be so private in Yamaguchi's life that could even compare to the secret that he had. At the same time, though, Kei wasn't so sure that it was a good idea for Yamaguchi to tell him a secret of his own regardless. One of the reasons was because he really didn't want to get more attached to Yamaguchi than he had to. "Nah, you know what? Keep your secret. I'll just... have to trust you."

Another smile appeared on Yamaguchi's face. Tsukishima could feel that it was a genuine smile, and he knew that he could trust the other boy with that smile he had. Letting out a sigh, Kei rubbed at his stomach that was all jumbled at the moment and felt terrible at the surprise he had been given. "Ready to go back to class? The teacher might send out a search party if we stay any longer," Yamaguchi teased as he took a step closer to the door.

Taking a second to think, Kei shook his head. "You go ahead, I need to actually go to the bathroom now," he said and he tried to let out an awkward laugh, but it just wasn't going to come out. But really, Yamaguchi understood why Kei wasn't able to laugh at the moment, so he let the boy have a pass on it.

It was when Yamaguchi had finally left that Kei had barricaded himself in a stall and he had sat on the floor. It didn't take more than one finger this time and only a very gentle push in the back of his throat for Tsukishima to start his purging. Honestly, Kei wasn't sure how he had survived not vomiting through the entire exchange with Yamaguchi. It was a miracle that he had managed the whole time. He also felt the tears start to prick in his eyes, because he was honestly just trying to wrap his mind around all of this.

The only people that knew he was a pole dancer were Akiteru his brother, Oikawa, and Suga. His mother didn't know that he was a pole dancer, because he didn't want to disappoint her, and his other friends really didn't need to know. He hadn't wanted to add another name to that list. He hadn't wanted Yamaguchi to know, and it was potential blackmail for the future.

Lurching again, Kei held onto the toilet and started to sob after the latest vomit left his mouth. Right now, Kei was just hoping that no one wanted to try to get in the bathroom now. He knew that it was unlocked now, but he didn't need anyone else to approach him right now and he really just wanted some peace.

Unfortunately, he knew he had to get back to class, which was why he pushed himself up and he forced himself to wash off his face, rinse out his mouth with tap water, and go back to class to join in on the dance the teacher had been teaching them.

Stepping into place next to Yamaguchi, the other boy had looked at him and gave him another genuine smile, that really did feel nice to receive. "Hey, so... What was your family emergency this weekend? And why did you have to come see Saeko?" Kei had whispered as the class started to move. Kei really wasn't sure what their dance was this time, so he just followed Yamaguchi's lead and made sure that he wasn't missing any steps.

The other boy's face seemed to scrunch up when Kei asked, so he wondered briefly if it was a touchy topic. "On second thought, you don't have to-"

"My family's house was broken into. It was my fault because I was the last one to leave the house and I had left it unlocked," he said as the teacher was showing the rest of the class how to move once again.

Honestly, hearing Yamaguchi just offer up that incident and tell him the truth about what had happened was kind of a surprise. Although, Kei figured that the reason he was offering up that type of information was because Yamaguchi had found out one of Kei's dark secrets. It wasn't the only secret Kei had, but it was one of the two he really didn't want others to find out about. But maybe Yamaguchi had just told Kei what his family emergency had been because of their conversation in the bathroom. He didn't know for sure, but he had a feeling that was why. "I'm sorry to hear that, really. Just because a door is unlocked, doesn't mean it's a welcome for people to come in and steal things," Kei said.

Shrugging and going back to dancing, Yamaguchi seemed a little more glum about it. "The police aren't likely to find the man, and since the door was unlocked, they don't really have evidence to say it was even a robbery..." Yamaguchi said with a sigh.

Really, Kei actually felt for Yamaguchi there. Kei knew that making mistakes was miserable, and he would hound on himself if he had made a mistake that had cost his family dearly like that. "That really does suck. What were you doing with Saeko, though?" Kei had asked, trying to avoid telling the entire class that he worked at a strip club.

A small smile had crossed Yamaguchi's face. "She's uh... the sister to one of my brothers, and we went to ask her for help on the rent. The thieves took all the money we had saved up for rent this month, so we were hoping she had enough to help us out. She did, which was great. We just have to pay her back eventually."

That entire story was so depressing, and Kei felt bad for every second of it. Letting out a sigh as the teacher excused them back to their desks, he looked at Yamaguchi with a frown. "You know, I... made a lot of money last night. Maybe I could help you pay her back?" Kei offered up.

Honestly, he wasn't entirely sure why he had just offered up the money that he was supposed to give to his mom to someone that he went back and forth between liking and hating. But he had, and he couldn't take the offer back now.

The bashful smile on Yamaguchi's face was actually kind of cute, and Kei had to look away from it so he didn't get caught up in that smile. "I couldn't take your money, Tsukishima. Thank you for the offer though, My family will figure it out," Yamaguchi said.

Why was it that everyone turned down his money? Why couldn't he spend his money on what he really wanted to spend the money on? He had a feeling that Yamaguchi wasn't likely to take the offer, and he was kind of glad that he hadn't taken it, either. Kei had to pay his mother back anyway, or at least sneak the money into her purse, so she would take it and use it without realizing it.

Once class had ended, the pair of boys started to walk towards their next class, completely forgetting about the quiz they were meant to have that day. "Hey, so I know the project isn't technically due until late in the semester, but... do you think we should start on the duet we're supposed to start, at least start on it soon, maybe?" Yamaguchi asked as they walked slowly to their psychology class. They were slowing down more and more, which was a curious thing to be happening.

Thinking for a moment, Kei was wondering just how much work they really needed to put into this. He was sure he could choreograph a dance piece that would get them enough points to pass, but they probably should get started on it, just so they didn't get too caught up with other school work and life related things. Yamaguchi made a good point that they should probably start right then. "Yeah, let's uh... We can start sometime this week, if you want. I just... I work on Wednesday and then Sunday again, so maybe a day other than one of those?"

Thinking for a moment, Tadashi nodded and hummed. "Let's shoot for tomorrow night, then? I've got nothing going on, other than my family stuff. But they will understand that I need to work on school things," Yamaguchi said as he smiled back to Kei. It was another heartwarming smile that made Kei just feel better about everything and he was actually rather grateful to witness such smiles.

It seemed like the boys had set their plan in stone. They walked into the room and took their seats in the back once more. Kuroo was already there and he had a confused look on his face for some odd reason, but what did Kei really care about it?

Really, why Tsukishima didn't need to care about Kuroo in the slightest, and if he had talked to Oikawa and Suga about him, he would care even less and try to stay away from the boy. The thing was though, he was just drawn in with the way Kuroo had treated him. But sadly enough, Kuroo didn't come to talk to Kei and just stayed where he was seated. It only bothered Tsukki a little bit, but he just shrugged it off and asked himself why he cared, when he really shouldn't have cared.

Kuroo only had an odd look on his face, because wasn't Kei upset with that other boy, Yamaguchi? That was what he was under the impression of, but it had really just thrown him off to see that Kei was back to talking to Yamaguchi.

Either way, Tsukishima needed to make peace with Yamaguchi so the pair could start their dance assignment, and Kei could make Yams keep his promise about not sharing his dark secret to the entire world. That was all he could really care about at the moment.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I realize now that it's actually Tsukishima Kei's birthday. So happy birthday to Kei! Also, this chapter is kind of... very mean to him, so I am sorry that I had treated him so poorly on his birthday. Anyway, please enjoy!

It was a mutual feeling in the room. Breathing was heavy, exhaustion was settling in, and it seemed to be slowly settling down. An hour ago, the room was lively and filled with so much movement. But right now, there was not a lot of moving at all.

The room that was being occupied was a student dance studio, and there were only two boys in the room. Each boy was laying on the ground, trying to regain their breathing and let their pulse settle down. It wouldn't be too long before it all settled, but they had just finished up a run through of the dance they were working on.

"That was good," Yamaguchi said as he slowly sat up, looking over at Tsukishima, who was still laying down with his arm over his eyes. It looked as though Tsukki was going to fall asleep there, but Yamaguchi couldn't let that happen. He wouldn't let his partner pass out in a school studio. Although, he was wondering if it had happened before. He was sure it had, but it wouldn't happen to either of them.

Nodding, Kei sat up as well, letting out a held breath. "It was. I need to work on my split jump at the end, though. I should be a little further away from you, so I don't accidentally kick you in the process," Kei said sheepishly, smiling a bit and looking down at his legs.

Humming, Yams seemed to be thinking about something. "I can take a bigger step away before you do that and before I turn. But I think we've finally got the dance. I wonder if anyone else has come up with their dance routines yet," Yamaguchi pondered as he curled up a little, but he stayed sitting down and he wondered about the other students in the class.

It was a curious thing to know that Yamaguchi seemed to be so worried about everyone else. Kei really couldn't bring himself to worry about anyone else, because his life was a little too hectic and he had his own things to worry about. Anyone that was important to him, though, he was always concerned about. He just couldn't be concerned about everyone.

Now, Tadashi didn't seem too terribly concerned about everyone else, but it was just the fact that he had thought about them at all. "Probably not. But we don't have to worry about them, as long as we are happy with our own dance."

As Yamaguchi laid back once more, he nodded in response and looked over at Kei. "Are you happy with it? I mean... I don't want to get a lower grade just because I'm not good at ballet like you are. But we could always try to come up with a ballet?"

The thought was out there, and Kei knew that they could always come up with a strictly ballet dance routine, one that was simple and filled all of the requirements. But this idea of merging two dance types went above and beyond the requirements that the teacher had asked for. He actually wondered if the idea was too complex for this project. "I'm content. You're a hip hop dancer, I'm a ballet dancer. So combining the two dance types was a really good idea, Yamaguchi. It should definitely get us a good great. I doubt our other classmates came up with anything nearly as creative."

A laugh had left Yamaguchi's mouth as Kei laid back down and rolled onto his side to look at Yamaguchi. "Just because we have the idea all set, though, doesn't mean we can let it go until the project due date. I want to practice this at least three times a week, so we don't forget everything and we can perfect it. I want to be able to do it in my sleep," Kei said.

When Tsukishima became serious like this, Yamaguchi wondered what it was in his life that had made him such a stickler for rules and such a strict human being. That was when it dawned on Yamaguchi that he really didn't know much about his partner, other than the fact that he was a ballet dancer and a pole dancer at the strip club that his brother had worked at. "Yeah, we can do that, as long as your schedule allows for that, with your work and all. How's that going, anyway?"

This topic was definitely not one that Tsukishima was comfortable with sharing, or talking about at all to be completely honest, unless it was with Oikawa or Suga. They were allowed to ask him about work and they knew that they couldn't bring it up all the time. Tsukki had his boundaries. "I mean, I'm making enough money to pay my mother back and to support everything I need. It's going as well as it needs to be at the moment," Kei said with a shrug.

It didn't seem like Yamaguchi was content though, and it seemed like he had more. He rolled over onto his side as well, to look at Tsukki and he smiled softly to him, before his eyes furrowed in confusion. "I'm curious, though. What made you pick becoming a stripper, over say... a clerk at a gas station, or a waiter at a restaurant?"

Letting out a sigh, Kei rolled his eyes and he contemplated over telling Tadashi about why he had chosen this job. Generally, he didn't let people even close enough to come into his personal life. They were usually left at the fence, not even allowed on the porch. But Yamaguchi had come onto the porch, and was knocking at the door, trying to get a peek in through the windows. "Well, for one... The hours. If need be, I really only have to work for maybe two hours, and then I get to go home. But if I want more money, I get to perform more, I walk around and talk to the customers, and I get paid hourly if I work more than three hours. The schedule is super flexible, so that's why I like it."

That didn't seem to satisfy Yamaguchi, though, and he looked away for a moment as he thought about what he was going to say next. "That's all great, really, but uh... Is there a reason you went after becoming a stripper instead of a different job?" Yams asked, raising an eyebrow.

Thinking it through, Kei knew he could give an answer to Yamaguchi's question. He knew that there was an answer to all of this, but he wasn't sure that Yamaguchi would like the answer. "Well, part of the reason is because of the hours and the money I bring in. I make enough money to pay my mom back for school, even though she doesn't know that I pay her back. I slip random money into her things for her to find. She hasn't found out yet. But she's been paying for my schooling, so I feel like I owe it to her. She also paid for my dance lessons before I was accepted to this school."

It did seem like Tadashi was content with that answer finally, but then his face became contorted again. Would this ever end? "So it's your mom... Alone?"

Swallowing and rolling onto his back, Kei stayed quiet for a moment. "I... yeah, she pays for my school by herself."

"Is your dad around? Couldn't he help? Sorry, I don't know much about your family life, but I would think that your family would want to support you no matter what, since your dancing is just so... beautiful." Yamaguchi struggled with a word to accurately describe Kei's dancing. But above all else, it really was beautiful to watch Kei dance.

The silence didn't break and the only noise in the room was the breathing that was happening between the two boys. Finally, though, it became too awkward, and Kei just had to say something to fill the void. "My dad... well, he's around, my parents are still married... but he... Doesn't exactly support my dance?" Kei was desperate and really didn't want to let Yamaguchi in. But the boy was just prodding away and trying his best to pry down Kei's walls. He was still trying to look through the window curtains to see what he could see.

It was that statement that told Yams enough. He had a feeling that Kei was very uncomfortable with talking about his personal life, and it made Yamaguchi wish he wasn't as curious of a person and would just leave people alone. But it was just in his nature to be curious. "I'm sorry to hear that. I really am lucky to have a supportive family. They all dance, too."

This was very dangerous, Kei figured. It was so dangerous, and very unlike him, but Kei had to do something to keep Yamaguchi from asking questions about his own life and family. "They do? What kind of dance, though? Hip hop too?" Kei made a face, because he was such a dance snob and he knew that he was very particular about the dancing he liked to see. 

Letting out a laugh, Yams nodded and smiled. "They're the ones that taught me my ways. Any one of them would be good enough to attend this school. None of them would agree with that, nor would any of them willingly come to university, but they are all so much better than me." Yamaguchi was being very modest, Kei figured, but he really didn't have a reference of their dancing, so he didn't know for sure.

After a moment Kei hummed and rolled back onto his side, glad that the topic was changed. "Wait, so they all dance? Even your mom and dad? And how many siblings do you have?"

It was that statement that made Yamaguchi's eyes widened. Kei had wondered if he had hit a nerve or something, but Yamaguchi's face broke into a smile. "I've got to tell you about my family. I'm going to get really personal here, aha..." Yamaguchi murmured, looking down at his own hands and they were fidgeting a bit. It really was making Kei curious, but there was also a part of him yelling to say that Kei really didn't want to know. The conflict inside him grew, but that didn't stop Tadashi.

"So, uh... My family isn't a typical family. Technically, I'm not related to any of them. I have no blood relation to any of the people I call family," Yamaguchi said, but the smile wasn't erased from his face just yet. "I call them family because... they took me in. They helped me when I needed it the most. I guess I should tell you a bit more..."

Kei's face had turned to surprise, and he really didn't want Tadashi to become uncomfortable about all of this. Hell, he didn't want Tadashi to say anything he wasn't willing to share. But the boy seemed to be willing to share, so Kei wasn't going to stop him. "My birth parents gave me up when I was very little. I grew up in an orphanage and that was where I spent the first ten years of my life. It was... well, it wasn't terrible, exactly, but it wasn't the most enjoyable experience. I had come to the belief that my parents had left me there because they didn't want me, which was obviously the truth. And uh... I started to believe that no one wanted me. Not in a suicidal way, or anything, but I just thought that people didn't want me around."

This entire story seemed to be a sad one, and it was one that Kei was coming to frown about. If he had known that Yamaguchi had grown up in an orphanage, he wouldn't feel so sorry for himself at his situation. "So... what about your current family? Were you finally adopted?" Kei asked, a small and slow pout coming to his lips. This really was a dark story to have to hear.

It seemed that there was more to the story, though, because Yamaguchi let out an awkward little chuckle as he shook his head. "Not exactly... I had just had enough of the orphanage. They were going to send me to live in a foster home, anyway, because I was getting to be too old to live in the orphanage. Well, my mind was just telling me that no one wanted me, still, so I kind of ran away from the orphanage. I must have walked for... twelve hours, I didn't stop to eat or to take a break. I mean, I did sit for a couple of minutes to relax, but I walked for twelve hours just to get away. Well... I was eventually picked up by local police, and they took me back to the orphanage. It was only a couple days later that I was sent to live at a foster home."

The smile had left Yamaguchi's face, and Kei was starting to regret asking about all of this. He wasn't too terribly sure that he wanted to know about Tadashi's past. He also didn't know that he wanted to get more involved with the boy than he already was. But he was too far in to run away now. "I went between homes. I think the longest time I spent in one foster home was five months. I was never in trouble, I behaved, and I kept quiet. Well, I had just had enough. By the time I turned eleven... I was done. I just couldn't take it anymore. So I had it in my brilliant mind that I could get away with running away again."

Yamaguchi had stopped then, and Tsukishima could tell that this way a very difficult story to tell. There had to be something to help Tadashi out a bit, something to encourage him that things were okay. "Hey, Tadashi... If you don't want to tell me the rest of the story, it's okay. I can see that you've had a rough life so far, and I really don't want to push you into telling me about it..." It wasn't that Kei didn't want to know now, but he knew what it was like to have a secret in his life that he didn't want to share. "Just knowing that you've made it this far, that's really inspiring, you know?" Tsukki said, giving a half smile to Tadashi to show his support.

Another deep breath was taken by Yamaguchi, and it was a bit shaky. "No, no... I want you to know. I think it's better that we know more about each other, really. I won't force you to tell me about yourself, but I do want to tell you this.

"Anyway... So when I had turned eleven, I had run away. I was gone. I snuck out late at night, and since it was the country, I wasn't likely to be found or picked up by local police. I made it into town, and I really didn't want to stop. But the police weren't likely to stop me, because it was a bigger city that kids wandered around in all the time, and there were other kids around too. I was brave enough to take breaks and stop to get food, but really, I didn't have a lot of money. That was okay, though, so I stopped to get something cheap, and I heard some other boys talking about a dance contest. Well... I followed behind them and listened in, and what they were talking about sounded too good to be true." Yamaguchi had a look of pure wonder on his face, and Kei smiled to know that there were happier parts to this story.

"What were they talking about?" Kei asked, the sound to his voice had definitely jumped in curiosity, as if he actually wanted to know. Part of him did want to know, actually. It actually made Kei want to tell Tadashi about his story, but his story was a little too think for all of this.

Smiling, Yamaguchi had a gleam in his eyes like no other. "They were talking about dance, Tsukki! It was some kind of contest where the entrance fee was only three dollars, and they would give the winners a grand prize of one hundred dollars. Now, I knew nothing at all about dance at that point, but I had watched other kids do it, and I figured that I could give it a shot and win myself some money. The contest wasn't for another couple of weeks, so I had those two weeks to practice what I wanted to do."

Letting out just a little bit of a laugh, Kei smiled at that thought. He smiled at the thought of Tadashi not knowing anything about dance and thinking he could just enter the contest without knowing anything "So then what? Oh, and what did you do for those two weeks about sleeping and food?"

The smile faltered a bit on Yamaguchi's face, and he shrugged a bit. "Eventually, I went to a local church, and I told them some lie about something to make sure they wouldn't tell the cops. I didn't want to go back to the foster home, so I just told them I needed a place to stay warm while... I think I told them that my parents were fighting. I don't know. They fed me leftover foods and let me sleep in one of the pews they had in the entry way, as long as I was up and out of there before any of their activities started." Hearing that, it was nice that Yamaguchi seemed to have luck with that church.

Taking another deep breath, Tadashi started his story again. "They believed my fake-ass story, and they didn't call the cops on me, so I was grateful for that. Anyway... I practiced my dancing in street alleys and since I really didn't know what good dancing looked like, I figured I would just give it a go, and if I lost, I was only out three dollars."

This story was very captivating in Kei's eyes, and he was really very interested in the rest of the story. He hadn't realized how much time had actually passed, but if he had known how long they were out in the studio, he honestly probably wouldn't have cared. He really just wanted to know more about Tadashi, even though at first, he really didn't want to know more at all. "So... You went to the contest?" Kei asked as he rolled onto his stomach and he adjusted and looked the other boy over a bit more.

"Yeah, and oh my goodness, Tsukki, there were so many people there! I gave my three dollars and took my place card before I went to go see everything that was happening. And finally, it seemed like they were starting. They were, which was great, but I became so discouraged when I watched the first few dancers. They were so good, and I was ready to just back out and leave, go back to the church and join, just so I had a place to stay there. But then, my name was called to go on stage..." Yamaguchi's face scrunched up, as if this part of the story wasn't good. Really, this was the best part of the story.

After a moment, Yamaguchi blinked and he looked back at Kei. "So, I told them a song, because I hadn't even thought about that part. But I didn't have a phone, I didn't have access to music, other than what I heard from others' radios and such, so I wasn't even too familiar with music. I picked just a random pop song, and I stood on stage, looking out to the crowd. They were all cheering for me, but I was just so anxious... Well, watching what the first dancers had done, I knew I had to move to the beat, so I started to move around to the beat of the music, I threw myself in different positions, and I ended up doing a handstand, dancing on my hands a bit. That actually got the crowd to laugh, and at least I wasn't booed off the stage."

All of this was very great, if Kei had a say in what he thought about it all. The fact that Yamaguchi didn't know anything at all about dance, hadn't even tried it until two weeks before he entered the contest, told Kei that Tadashi really had some nerve and was a brave character. "I was just going to leave, because I knew I wasn't going to win. But then another person came on, and then a few more... It was a dance team, actually, and they put on such a good performance. It made me wish I could join, but I didn't have enough nerve to go and find out more. By the end, the judge had picked a winner, and it was actually the dance team that won. Now, they weren't the only dance team to go up, but it was their dance that I fell in love with. I was happy for them. Sad that I hadn't won, but I knew that I hadn't stood a chance. So, I cheered for them and I had decided that it was just my fate to have lost and would have to go back to the church."

The story seemed to have ended right there, but that really wasn't the ended that Kei had wanted to hear. "So... did you go back to the church?" Kei asked with a raised eyebrow.

Humming a bit, Tadashi shook his head. "I tried. I had accepted my fate and was ready to go be a church boy. So as I was walking out of the building and made it down the street, I heard someone yelling towards me. I turned to look and stopped, and uh... One of the boys from that dance team had been yelling to me. I felt honored, so of course I started to walk back. They wanted to talk to _me_ , so how could I turn them down? I had loved their dance so much, I needed to tell them how much I loved it, anyway. So uh... It was then that I got a really good look at the boy. Slowly, the rest of the team joined him, and they seemed to be talking when one of them said 'oh, it's that kid! We wanted to talk to you!' and I was having trouble comprehending that they wanted to talk to me. But I was curious, so I agreed to listen..."

This really wasn't like Kei to be so interested, but there was no way that he wasn't going to get the rest of the story. "So what did they want to talk to you about?" Kei asked, his knees bending as he started to kick his feet, out of pure excitement and anticipation to know what had happened. He didn't know why he was so interested, really. All he knew was that he wanted to know more.

Letting out a bit of a laugh, Yamaguchi scratched at the back of his head. "Well... They wanted to tell me that my impromptu dancing on my hands was funny and they loved it. I thanked them and I had told them the truth about not knowing anything about dance. Well... They seemed so surprised by that, and I told them that after everything I had saw, I wanted to know more." There was a gleam to Tadashi's eyes once more, and he seemed to be so happy with his own story, which was a great thing.

"Well, they invited me to dinner at their house, and I got to thinking that I really didn't know what I was doing for dinner, so I accepted their offer. They took me back to their apartment and... well, it was really small, and I thought it was odd that all of them lived there. Also, some of my family has moved out now and, they've stopped dancing with us, but... that's not important. Anyway, we sat and had dinner, and they told me about dancing and all of the perks of dancing and everything. It sounded too good to be true." Yamaguchi still had a look of wonder in his eyes. It almost looked dreamy at this point.

Kei was starting to get a little freaked out by that look, but it was still nice to see that Yamaguchi had good thoughts about this story. "Okay, so then what?" Kei wanted to know everything, and he was actually leaning forward to hear more. It was just such an interesting story.

"Well... They told me about themselves, said that they had all been dancing for years and didn't have any formal training, but they still loved it. Then, they had told me that they were actually looking for another dancer to fill in the holes that they had in their dance routines. And then... they asked me if I would join their dance team. Tsukki, they asked me to join their dance team when I was so terrible at dancing! They said that I could learn and they would train me, but they wanted me to join, just because they liked how much nerve I had, and how hard I had tried." Yamaguchi's face had grown so bright, he had been thinking about this whole story and it really did seem to be far too good to be true. But Kei had no reason to doubt him.

"So I told them that I was still very interested and I would like to join if they would have me, but I reminded them all that I really hadn't know anything about dance. But really, they didn't seem to care. All they cared about was that I came to their dance practices and that I was a good person. So uh... after that, I told them I had to go and hope I could get into the church again, just because I didn't have anywhere else to go." Yamaguchi still smiled, but it was a sad smile.

Kei didn't want the smile to be sad, and he wanted Yamaguchi to keep having that bright look on his face. "Now... did you go back to the church? Did you get in?" Tsukki had asked, still very curious in this whole story. A smile had come to his face, just because he was so invested into this story at the moment. He didn't know he could smile like this, or for this long. But here it was, still on his face. Who was he? Why was he smiling so much?

Another little snickering laugh was let out by Tadashi, and he shook his head once again. "When I told them I had to go back to the church, they seemed to be really confused and they asked me why I had to go back again. I told them I didn't have a home to go back to. Well... There was a rather large guy in there, and he was quiet and just sitting there, listening in. I guess I hadn't noticed him following them either, but he was part of their family too. He uh... He actually chimed in right then and told me that I could stay there, which was probably one of the best things I could have heard, because I didn't want to have to sleep on those hard benches again. He couldn't have been more than fourteen, really, but he was telling me I could stay there. The older members of the family agreed."

It seemed to be a very happy end to the story. Kei had pieced it all together, and he looked down. But Tadashi didn't seem to be done with the story just yet. "So I explained to them that I was a foster kid, told them about my parents abandoning me at an orphanage and how all of that worked, and well... You don't know them, but Tanaka, the brother of Saeko, he actually told me that they all had similar stories. They were all reject kids, kids without homes, or kids with crappy lives that needed something better. So he said that I could stay with them for as long as I wanted to. That... was how I found my current family, and how I got into dance. My birth parents left me at an orphanage and I have no idea if they dance or not. Honestly, I couldn't care less if they dance. I'm happy with the family I have."

It was such a touching story, and Kei had started to think about Oikawa and Suga, being unofficial parts of his own family. But it wasn't exactly the same, if he was being honest. He had another family to go to, but Yamaguchi didn't have anywhere else to do. It was just his friends, the ones that had taken him in. "Thank you for telling me that. It's nice to know more about you, actually. So the person you have in your phone as Dadchi, I'm guessing he's part of your family?"

Moving to start to stand, Yamaguchi nodded and smiled even brighter, if that was even possible. "He's the dad figure of the group now. He uh... He's the one we all go to about problems, and the one that just seems to hold everything together. He's the glue of the family. I mean, we're all boys, so there's not really a mother of the group, but I guess... Asahi, the guy that I had mentioned before who wasn't dancing and was just there with them, he's the mother of the group. He records all of our performances, he is there if we need someone to talk to, if we need someone to cry with... He's actually had a few things to say about you, and it's been kind of amusing."

Knowing that Tadashi spoke about him did something funny to his heart. What was happening? Why did his stomach just do flips? It was very uncomfortable, particularly for him, as he was still struggling with an eating disorder. "So you talk about me?" Kei asked with a bit of a grin, pushing himself to stand once Tadashi had gone to sit up. It really was late, so he wanted to go home and get at least a couple hours of sleep.

Humming a bit, Yams had rubbed the back of his head once more. His hair looked soft, too, which was a thought that Kei had no idea where it came from. Why was he thinking such things about Yamaguchi? Why did he even care? "I do, but just because we're partners! They're all kind of jealous that I dance with you, because they want to dance duos with me, too. But like... I don't have time with all of our other homework and working on this routine now."

It was a bit of an odd thing to think that they had sat and talked for nearly an hour after they were done dancing. But this was just what college students did, wasn't it? None of them had normal sleeping schedules, particularly dance students, he figured. As they walked out of the studio, Kei was starting to think about the way Tadashi had made him feel. "So uh, I'm not completely comfortable talking about my family, but... I don't want you to think it's just because I don't want to share. I've just never been comfortable sharing things about my life. But... if you're ever curious, just catch me off guard, and get me to talk about it," Kei said as they walked.

The pair seemed to be walking slower than normal, but each of them had just put the blame on the fact that they had been dancing and their bodies and muscles were very tired. "Well, I have time if you want to tell me more right now? So your mom supports you with dancing? I'm glad you have that in your life," Tadashi said in a yawn.

Both boys were really tired, but really, it wasn't that late yet. They had been dancing for a few hours, but it also wasn't that terribly late, since they had started before five. There were still a few students around, walking to their cars or just going back to their dorms, maybe back home if they didn't live on campus. "Yeah, my mom supports me in everything. I'm glad to have her in my life, and she pays for it all, too. The thing is, though, it's really hard for her to get to see me dance, since that would mean lying to my dad about it all. I don't want to put her through lying to my father, so she's only seen me dance twice, and those times were only because my dad was out of town. I'm hoping she'll be able to see me dance sometime this year, just to show her that I'm working hard and not letting her money go to waste."

Stretching and accidentally bumping Tsukki, Yams looked over with a sheepish grin. "I'm just glad she's supportive of you. My family, they uh... they made fun of me for coming to the school, because they told me that I didn't need to be trained formally, or get a degree to make it anywhere. But, I wanted more experience, so they all make fun of me when I talk about ballet..."

That struck a chord with Kei, and he was starting to dislike his family for making fun of ballet. "They do know how difficult it is, right?" Kei asked in a huff, looking out to the street, just so Yamaguchi didn't have to see the sour puss expression on his face.

"Oh, they know how difficult it is, but they just don't see the point of having so much technique to dance. They are all freestyle, hip-hop dancers. That's why they make fun of me whenever I talk about ballet. But their intentions are good," Yamaguchi said. It seemed like they were just going to walk around campus, because it felt like neither of them were ready to go just yet. They were having a lot of fun just talking.

It seemed like the night classes had all just let out, too, because there were definitely more students in the quad now and out on the campus streets. "Well, even though I... played it tough before, and even though I said that you had no technique... I mean, that's still kind of true, I respect you a little more now. You do seem to know what you're talking about with hip hop dance, and you definitely are good at that. Not that... I really understand it at all, but it's still dance, I guess." Kei was still making faces about hip hop dance right now, and he didn't quite understand that type of dance still. There really didn't seem to be style or technique to the dance, but Kei really hadn't tried it before, if he was being honest.

Tadashi let out a bit of a sigh to what Kei was saying. "Yeah, it's definitely still dancing. I can't believe you're still judging what kind of dance I do..." Tadashi said as he looked back over to Kei with a disappointed look.

Scoffing, Kei shook his head. "Well, yes, I am a stripper. But strippers have to have really good technique," Kei said with an eye roll. "But I'm starting to respect hip hop a little more, now. So you don't have to get all offended over it. I'm just learning still."

"Yeah, okay," Yamaguchi said softly, letting Kei's little snide remark about dancing hip hop go.

They were walking around the music side of campus and it really seemed as if the music classes had also just let out. They hadn't been paying attention to where they were going, nor did they really care at the moment. "Tadashi? Oh hey, Tadashi!" There were a shrill, squeak of a voice, and both boys turned around to see who was calling for Yamaguchi.

The thing was, Kei had no idea who the girl was that had called for the other boy, but Tadashi seemed to know who she was. "Oh, hey Yachi! You have class this late?" Yamaguchi asked as he raised an eyebrow. It was a conversation that Kei didn't know if he should really be listening too, but since he was having a conversation with Tadashi first, he invited himself to stay.

If he had known how bad of a choice he had just made, he wouldn't have decided to stick around. He would have walked away and let Yamaguchi live his life while he went home to get some sleep. "Yeah, I do. Us sound people like the late nights better, I guess. What are you doing out here?" she asked with a smile, one that Kei thought was a little too faked to be real.

Yamaguchi actually had a smile on his face, too, which sent Tsukishima's emotions into overdrive and he had to figure out what exactly it was he had been feeling. Whatever was going on, Kei didn't like it. "Oh, just taking a walk with my dance partner. We just finished practicing our routine. I do say, I really do like what we've done."

There was just one little moment, but Kei saw it. It was there, and there was no way he hadn't noticed it. The look that she had shot towards Kei was something venomous, but it had only been there for a second, so Yamaguchi wasn't likely to have seen it. "Well that's awesome! I wish you guys luck on the dance," she said.

Nodding, Yams seemed to step away just a tiny bit from Tsukki, and it was really very upsetting that the boy had stepped away from him, when just minutes before, he was laughing about the fact that he had bumped arms with him. That feeling was still in the pit of Kei's stomach, and he really didn't like having this Yachi girl around. Not one bit.

"So hey, I still have to eat... and I really have nothing at home. Do you want to join me for dinner, Tadashi? Unless you two were busy with dance stuff, or something," Yachi had said softly.

This had to be one of the worst feelings in the world. Kei hated how his stomach betrayed him and he had only had breakfast this morning, so what was it that was making him feel sick to his stomach? Was it an emotion that he wasn't used to feeling? What in the world was this boy doing to him?

It was as if Yamaguchi hadn't really understood what Yachi was saying, and it was as if he had just caught on. The blush had spread over the bridge of his nose and he started to fidget. "You want to go get dinner with me...? I mean, I'd love to go with you to dinner! Kei and I were just... taking a walk. You don't mind, right Kei? Now you can go home and get some rest," Yamaguchi had said, trying to offer up a solution to what Kei could do instead now. It wasn't like they were actually doing anything, so why was Kei getting so upset about this?

Finally, Yachi had smiled and she held her instrument case - it looked like a violin case - closer to her, and Yamaguchi had offered to carry it. She argued with him about it, but let it happened as the pair had walked away. Even though Tsukishima couldn't see the look on her face, her body language was screaming out in victory, as if she had won in stealing Yamaguchi from Kei.

Watching them go off, Kei's stomach started to do even more flips and it was bothering him to no end. He was sure that there was a bathroom open somewhere, so maybe it was time to go take care of the emotions that he had been feeling inside. It was so unnatural to feel like this, and this was why Kei usually didn't let himself get attached to people like this. He was dumb to pull the shade back just a little for Yamaguchi to see. Right now, he wished he could let the shade fall back into place and he could erase Yamaguchi's memory of what he had seen. That wasn't going to happen, though.

As Kei slipped back into a classroom building, he went straight to a bathroom. He made sure that there was nobody there, and he locked the door this time before he went to one of the toilets to get rid of his pain in the form of purging. If Oikawa had wanted him to get better over this, it wasn't going to happen today. There was no way it was going to happen today.

Starting to tear up and shake his head at all of the emotions he was feeling that he hadn't quite understood, Kei rubbed at his eyes under his glasses and tried to get the pesky tears out of his eyes. Where did this emotion come from? Why did he care that Yamaguchi was going to dinner with Yachi, anyway? This was why he didn't like to care about people.

This was why he didn't let people in. He had learned his lesson, but his stomach wasn't going to settle for right now. At least, it wasn't likely to settle until the following morning. Tsukishima would just have to suffer, as much as he wished he didn't have to.


	6. Chapter 6

The routine was the same for the last week. Go for a run, go to class, go do school work, practice solo dances, go to work, come home and crash for four hours. It wasn't going to change anytime soon, he figured as much. There wasn't anything that could cause this routine to falter, nor did Tsukishima want it any other way. So why would he try to make it change? At the very least, he had off on the weekend and he could throw himself into his studies and he could not worry about work for Sunday. It was just how he had to do things for a while.

Now, there really wasn't anything in the world that could stop Tsukki from doing something once he had his mind set on something he wanted to do. Right now, he wanted to finish up his classwork and then he wanted to go to work. Not that his homework would take him four hours to finish, nor would it take him three hours to get ready and walk himself to work. But that was what his mindset was at the moment and Kei really had it set on getting to work.

It was a Thursday night and Kei was just finishing up with his homework when he heard the front door open. He was over at Oikawa's apartment at the moment, which was probably a mistake, due to how physically and mentally drained he had been. In all honesty, Kei really wasn't ready to face the pain that was Oikawa Tooru, but he figured he should at least buckle down and try to face him. Hopefully, the boy wouldn't cause him too much stress, either. Kei really didn't need more stress right now.

There were things going on in classes, things happening at work, and his personal life really wasn't all that great at the moment. Curling up a bit on his bed as he laid on it and started to write out his plans for one of his essay assignments, he flinched when he saw heard his door open and there was someone walking in without question. Of course, they had a right to be there and technically, it wasn't Kei's apartment. So he couldn't get too terribly mad. But then again, there really was only one person it could be. It wouldn't have been Suga, just because he would have knocked first Kei assumed.

Looking up to the figure standing in the doorway, he looked at the body language he was displaying as he leaned against the door frame and had his arms crossed. It was as if Kei could just read how this was going to turn out for him and he could tell how Oikawa was reacting to Kei at the moment. "So Suga ran out of the apartment before I got here, that's how I got in..." Kei said before looking back down at his work, trying to block out the anger that seemed to be radiating off of Tooru at the moment.

Clicking his tongue a few times, Oikawa had gotten Tsukki to look up to him once more. "Do you need something? Or can I get back to my school work so I can get to actual work on time tonight?" Kei asked, raising his brow to signal to Oikawa that he didn't know what the issue was.

A laugh radiated out of Oikawa's throat, but it didn't sound like a joyous laugh if Tsukishima was being honest. "I think you're crazy if you think I'm letting you go to work tonight," Oikawa said with what looked to be like a grin of crazy proportions.

What in the world was Oikawa going on about? Tsukki had promised to go to work already, so he couldn't just not go to work. This was a side of Oikawa that was going to give Tsukki a headache if the other boy wasn't careful.

When was Oikawa ever careful, though?

Making a face, Tsukishima shook his head and looked back down to his homework. He was actually making progress on this assignment, which made him feel rather good about all of this. He was confident that he would get this work done before tomorrow, which was really his only fear. "I'm going to work. I don't know who you're fooling," Kei retorted, writing out a few words on his notebook.

It was when another laugh left Oikawa's mouth that the boys exchanged looks that had Kei more than just a little concerned. "You really must be crazy, then. I'm not letting you go to work. Not tonight, Tsukki-chan. You're going to get some rest and you're going to actually do something fun for a change."

Those words were probably the worst things that Kei could have heard at the moment, because Kei's face dropped and he blinked a bit as he looked back up at Oikawa. "I have to work though! I already promised Saeko that I would be there," he whined and frowned a deep, thick frown. What was in it for Oikawa if he did this?

Snickering again, Oikawa pushed himself up gingerly from the door frame. "I've already called and talked to her. You've already picked up two extra shifts this week and you closed. How late is that for you, four in the morning before you're even headed back? If you've been running every morning, you'd have to get up by eight every morning. So you're only getting not even four hours of sleep. And don't make me mention your eating habits as of late. So you're staying home to rest," Oikawa said with a smile as he stepped over and took a seat by Kei.

Groaning noises made their way out of Kei's mouth and he started to cover his face. What in the world was Oikawa doing? Sure, he and Akiteru had made a promise all those years ago for Oikawa to look out for his safety and well being, but that was years ago and what good was it for Oikawa to worry about Kei anyway? "I'm going to call her and tell her I'm coming in anyway," Kei said through gritted teeth as he pulled out his phone.

As he dialed Saeko's number, he looked over to Oikawa as he pressed his phone up to his ear. Before Oikawa could even react, a very bubbly and cheerful voice came through the speaker of his phone. "Hey Tsukishima, so I'm giving you tonight off. I've noticed how tired you are as of late, and I think you should most likely take a bit of a break so you don't make yourself sick. You've been doing so much for us lately, and you deserve a break. I don't want our customers to comment about your sloppy shows because you're too tired to perform," she said through the phone.

There wasn't even a moment for Kei to speak through all of that. His teeth were gritted and he was doing his best to keep his composure. Kei looked ahead at the wall and close his eyes after, raising his other hand to his face to pinch at the bridge of his nose. "Only this one day?" Kei asked quietly, his voice filled with venom and absolute rage at what Oikawa had just done. This was unforgivable in his opinion, which meant that Oikawa would have to watch his back.

Another bubbly response came through his speaker, and Kei thought that he was going to lose it right then and there. "Just tonight. If you want to come in for a couple extra shifts any other time, that's fine, as long as the extra shifts are spaced out enough." Well, this didn't go as Kei planned.

Sighing and opening his eyes, turning his head to see another grinning smirk across the other boy's face, he licked his lips and would just have to accept defeat on this one. "Alright. Have a goodnight," Kei said. Once she hung up the phone on her end, Kei locked his own phone and he dropped it onto the bed. "Are you _fucking kidding me_?" Kei asked in a deep, menacing voice. It was rather hard to use this voice against Oikawa, but it had happened a few times already as it was.

This was very unexpected, and Kei threw himself back onto the mattress, letting out yet another groan. "Did I forget to tell you that I made her promise not to let you work tonight? I should have mentioned that," Oikawa said. There was a bit of a shimmer in his voice that Kei wanted to shake out of him. He really just wanted to smack Oikawa right now. Anything to get Oikawa to understand just how important it was for him to work right now.

Feeling himself getting sicker by the second, Kei knew that he would be barred from entering Oikawa's household again if he had gone to the bathroom to vomit. But Oikawa knew that this was where his mind and body went to whenever things got to be too stressful. Instead, though, he threw himself back onto the mattress. "I wish I had a different friend than you," Kei murmured as he held onto his face and hid behind it.

The pouting face had appeared on Oikawa's features and this was one that Kei could tell was real. But it didn't make Kei feel any worse about what he had said. "Tsukki-chan, I wish you wouldn't say those things. You know I just want to look after you. What I don't understand is why you're picking up extra work shifts, though. Is your mom struggling to pay the school bill? If she is, I can come up with some money," Oikawa questioned and offered.

That wasn't what the issue was at all. Sure, his mother could use any help that she could get with his school bill. Not that she would take it, but Kei knew that she could use the help. "No. After that little charade, you're not getting an answer out of me. You'll never know why I have been working so hard. Just to spite you, I'm not going to do anything fun, either."

When Oikawa had dropped his head and he started to look actually sad, Kei sighed as he shook his head and rolled closer to the pillows he laid upon at night. He really just didn't want to see Oikawa at the moment. It was hard enough to have to go through all of this on his own as it was, but now that Oikawa was screwing things up, he was just losing the bit of sanity he had in his life. "Kei, please tell me? I really am worried about you. I've never seen you like this, and it's starting to freak me out. I know that you get really into your dance and stuff, but if you're making enough at work by only working two to three shifts a week, you shouldn't change that. You're already not the most healthy individual, and you could seriously make yourself sick."

Feelings started to creep up inside of Kei and he slowly pushed himself up to sit. The duvet had started to shift on his bed, but Kei had decided that he would pull it over his legs, just to make Oikawa a little happier. At least he was lying down in bed, or getting ready to lie down. "I'm always sick. You're horrible for making me stay home from work," Kei said as he leaned against the headboard, looking Oikawa over.

But that was when he felt a hand go to his forehead and Tsukishima nearly swatted it away. He did when it stayed there for a few moments too long. "You feel warm. You really might be sick. Take your temperature just to be sure?" Oikawa said as he stood up. "I can get the thermometer."

Maybe Kei could just lock the door on Oikawa's way out. Maybe he could refuse for his temperature to be taken. All he knew was that he wanted to be left alone if he was going to be forced to stay home and not work. Oikawa had gone to go get the thermometer and Kei stayed right in bed. Honestly, he didn't want to fight Oikawa at the moment. He was just far too tired to fight him.

As Oikawa came back into the room, Kei opened his mouth and awaited the insertion of the meter to check his temperature. It was only a twenty seconds it took for the thermometer to start beeping wildly. The pair had gotten the kids' thermometer, so it would beep like crazy if the child had a fever. "See, you are sick. I was right to make you take this break. You need to rest and you need to stop working so hard."

This was definitely not what Kei had wanted to hear. He didn't need to be sick, he didn't need to be forced to stay home when his mind was ready to attack him with vicious thoughts as it was. This really was one of the worst things that Oikawa had done to date. Subconsciously, though, his mind and body was thanking the other boy for thinking of him. "I hope you know that you just created a bratty toddler by forcing me to stay here," he murmured as he stared Oikawa in his eyes.

Oikawa let out a sigh. "As long as you are getting the rest that you need. I just want to make sure you're taking care of yourself. I'm going to go make dinner for myself. If you want, I can cook up something easy, like an egg or a piece of toast for you. But you'd best believe that I'm going to make you eat something. Oh, don't give me that look. You're sick. The best way to get over this is to give your body proper nutrients. Since you hardly eat as it is, your body will take longer to fight off whatever it is that you have, so you'll stay sicker for a longer time. If you don't eat, I'll call Saeko and tell her about your fever."

Waves of helplessness started to coarse through Kei's body. How awful was Tooru going to be to him? "Fine. I'll eat an egg. Not two, one," Kei said as pushed himself up to stand and he went over to his bag to pull out the other assignment he had to work on for his choreography class. It was one of the few written assignments they were going to be given all year, so he would have to work his hardest on it to get it completed. Not that it was a very difficult assignment anyway, but Kei had to focus on something if he wasn't going to be allowed to go to work.

It seemed to be only twenty minutes when Oikawa had come back with a plate for Tsukishima. It had a scrambled portion of eggs on it, which to Kei, looked like more than one. But maybe it was just the lighting or something. His mind was going to make things up because he felt so so betrayed and helpless at the moment. "You know, I could just go back home," Tsukishima had said with a narrowed set of eyes as he took the plate smoothly from Oikawa.

Settling down on Kei's borrowed bed, he put his own plate on his crossed legs and sighed. "I'd just have to come over there to take care of you, then. You know it," he said as he looked at Kei, who was simply pushing the eggs around the plate. "Are you really not going to tell me why you've been working extra? Is there something special going on at work? Do you like a customer or something? Or is it something else?"

There was a very surprised laugh that had left Kei's lips. He hadn't liked a customer, and there wasn't anything special going on at the moment. Hell, he wished there was something special going on so he would have an excuse to work all of these extra hours. His smile had faded, but he shook his head. It didn't seem like Oikawa was going to let up on his relentless questioning though, and this was a headache that Tsukishima didn't want to deal with. "If I say it's personal, will that get me out of anything? Will it get me off the hook?" Kei asked with a glum face.

It was a personal reason. Multiple personal reasons, actually, but when had that ever stopped Oikawa from intruding on his private life before? He really wasn't being fair to Oikawa. He really wasn't as bad as Kei had said. But unfortunately, it was times like this that his mind imagined things to be much worse and he wished he had just had a better and easier life. "If I told you that Suga and I wanted to have personal time, would that stop you from coming over?"

Why was Oikawa like this? Kei didn't want to picture that in the slightest. He didn't need to picture Oikawa and Suga going at it like a bunch of animals. "So no, then..." Kei murmured as he let out a sigh. This wasn't going to be an easy thing to bring up as it was, but Kei was just going crazy as it was. "So, the first thing is... my mom spoke to my dad late last week and he might be coming home sooner than we anticipated. I'm not ready to face him yet and I'm not excited for him to come home."

Nodding, it seemed that Oikawa had a bit of realization on his face. Maybe he could play it off as his dad coming home that was bothering him. "Second, if my dad comes home, I don't know if I'll be able to work the two days a week I was doing originally anymore. I don't know if I can get away and tell him I'm just going out with friends or going to study. He might not believe me. If I can't work, that means I can't give my mom the money she deserve for paying for my college."

Humming, Oikawa nodded again. "That makes sense. I get it, but you're doing too much. You really do need to take care of yourself, you know?" Oikawa took a bite of his food and he motioned to Tsukishima's egg, as if he was saying that he had noticed that he hadn't taken a bite yet. It was true, he hadn't started eating his egg just yet. But Oikawa was the only one that had noticed that Kei wasn't eating whenever he was offered food. He also knew that Oikawa was one of the few that knew about his eating disorder. "What's the other reason you've been working more?"

Narrowing his eyes and doing his best to get out of talking about the other issue that was plaguing his mind lately, he tilted his head. "I already gave you two reasons..." Kei said to see if Oikawa would notice that he had only said two, but it was really only one reason.

The look on Oikawa's face had frozen and he looked up slightly in thought. "Well, that's really only one reason. What else has been causing this?" Oikawa asked as he cocked an eyebrow up and tilted his head slightly.

Frustrated, Kei looked down at his small plate. Finally, he took a bite. He figured that if he was at least try to eat, he would get perks from Oikawa. "Oh, you noticed," he murmured and he swallowed thickly, then he went to bite his lip. Did he really want to tell Oikawa about any of this? Did he really want Oikawa to get further into his business? Figuring it would end up happening regardless, he looked up to Oikawa with an annoyed look on his face. "It's Yamaguchi again..." Kei said as he looked away.

After saying that, Oikawa tilted his head and gave his best curiosity look. This wasn't going to be good and Kei could feel it. "Oh? What did he do this time? Is he still throwing you off in your dance classes?" There was something in Oikawa's voice that Kei couldn't pinpoint, which always meant that Tooru was up to know good.

Letting out another groan, Kei looked down at his plate of egg and he took another bite. He owed this much to Oikawa at the very least, he knew. After swallowing, he shook his head and was only willing to give Oikawa just a little bit of satisfaction at the moment. "No, it's not that..." Kei mumbled, although it was possible that everything to do with Yamaguchi was bothering him as of late, so maybe that was adding do it.

"So what is it, then?" Oikawa asked. The brunet leaned himself closer and Kei looked over to him. Honestly, if Kei hadn't known Oikawa for so long, he would have fallen for him too. He really could see now why Sugawara had fallen for the boy when he was sitting so close. He was very attractive, and the glimmer in his eyes had gotten to Kei. But that wasn't what they were to discuss. Hell, if Kei had told Oikawa that he was attractive, it would either just go to Oikawa's head, he would tease Kei about it until god only knows how long, or he would just say 'oh, I know.' All three of those options were bad, and Kei didn't want to deal with any of them.

Sighing a bit, Kei had to look away as he set his plate down. He had eaten half of the egg at the very least. "So last week, when we were practicing, he-"

"So he is throwing you off with dancing!" Oikawa interrupted.

A glare was thrown Oikawa's way, and he put a hand up before shaking his head. "No, and if you are going to interrupt me anymore, you're not going to get the story," Kei said as he looked back down to his plate. He took another bite, doing his best to eat the entire thing for Oikawa. Although, now he was wondering why he was trying to eat the egg to begin with. Oikawa had caused him more than enough agony for the day, so did he actually owe this to the older boy?

Whines were made and Oikawa had looked down to his plate as he took a bite himself. "I'm sorry, Tsukki-chan. I won't interrupt again." It sounded plausible that Oikawa was actually going to stay quiet, although Tsukki wasn't going to hold his breath.

Finally, when Oikawa had gone quiet and Tsukishima had taken a breath, he looked to his plate and relaxed his glare. "So after we were done dancing... I really don't know what made me do it, and I don't know why I told him as much as he did. I mean, Oikawa, I _opened up_ to him. I told him so much more than I would tell anyone, other than you and Suga, obviously. But why would I willingly open up to him? I mean, I guess he did tell me things..." It was the desperateness in Tsukishima's voice that gave away how upset he was about the situation. Normally, he wasn't one to open up to people. But then again, Tsukishima wasn't one to have people to open up to anyway.

The grimace appeared on Tooru's face. Even _that_ was a cute look on Oikawa. Damn, Suga picked a good one. Kei couldn't have those thoughts right now, or ever, just because it was a dangerous game to be playing when it was involving his older friend and guardian. "What did you tell him? Don't tell me you told him anything about your eating disorder or your dad... I mean, your dad is one thing, but Suga doesn't even know about your anorexia or bulimia. If you told a stranger, or... he's not a stranger anymore I guess, but if you told Yamaguchi those things over-"

"I didn't tell him about my eating disorder, okay? I also talked about my mom and how great she is for supporting me. i really didn't talk about much else," Kei had said as he looked over to Oikawa. "But it's just the fact that he was trying to get me to tell things about myself that I'm not comfortable with sharing with anyway else, only you and Suga. Maybe my brother," Kei said as he looked down at his egg plate. He forced himself to take the last bite of his food and he set the fork down. "Why did I let him in? You know what else? He told me about his life and I was actually starting to like him, too..." Kei felt himself get far too uncomfortable with all of this and he shook his head slightly.

If Oikawa had to have one job in his life, Tsukishima was sure that he would decide it would be to annoy Tsukishima as much as humanly possible. "Maybe it's because you have a crush on him," Oikawa said with a devious, teasing voice. Hearing those words it what sent Kei to sit straight up and he moved to stand, going to go grab his backpack. "Hey, what are you doing?" Oikawa asked as he set his own plate down on the bed and went to Kei.

There wasn't a thing that was going to make Kei stay after that ridiculous comment. Kei? Liking _Tadashi_? That was a funny thing, and there was no way that could possibly be true. "You'll see me at school. I'm leaving," Kei said as he turned around with his jacket on and his backpack slung over his shoulder.

Right then, Oikawa had wrapped his arms around Tsukishima's waist and he squeezed a bit. "Don't go, Kei! I'm sorry, okay? It just sounds like you're starting to like him. Maybe you don't have a crush on him, but maybe you're starting to see him as a friend, and that's why you opened up to him!" When Oikawa wasn't being cynical or teasing, he made sense and actually offered up things that made sense.

Was it true? Did Tsukishima want Yamaguchi to be more than just his dance partner? Did he have a longing to make Tadashi more than just what he currently was? Deep down in his subconscious, he knew that Yamaguchi could potentially be good for him. It was something that he would have to work over a lot, just because he had a lot to think about with this.

Pushing Oikawa off of him, Tsukishima sighed and he took his backpack off and he started to shrug off his jacket. He wasn't actually going to leave, he knew from the start, but Oikawa was good at pissing him off and getting Tsukishima to regret being friends with Oikawa. "Fine, I won't go. You're on thin ice though," Kei said as he went to go sit back down.

The two boys had gotten back into their original positions and Kei was doing his best not to just tell Oikawa to leave him be. He was sick, after all. His headache was starting to grow and grow. The sickness didn't help, and neither did Oikawa trying to pick away at his personal life. But Oikawa wanted to know what was going on, which was why Kei had to stick it out. "You know, I was thinking. Maybe you opened up to him because... It's one of those psychology things. You were tired, you were having fun dancing, so maybe your defenses were just down. Maybe it really means nothing at all."

Sighs seemed to be a common thing that afternoon, and that was what Kei had done once more. It was a disease, he figured. He had caught many illnesses living and being around Oikawa, and the sighs were one of them. But it wasn't Oikawa that was making him sigh this time around. Kei knew that he needed to be honest with himself more often, but at the moment? Kei really didn't have the patience to tell himself that he was falling for Yamaguchi Tadashi. It was absolutely ridiculous for him to think about on the surface. But on the inside, Kei knew that he was falling for the boy. That was the reason he had sighed. It was also the reason that Kei had felt sick and made himself vomit every time he saw Yachi anywhere close to Yamaguchi.

Looking back up to Oikawa, he nodded. "Maybe. Or maybe... don't let this go to your head, but maybe you're right. Maybe I do want to be friends with him. He's a good kid and I could use more good people in my life like you-"

The very moment that Tsukishima had said those words, he had regretted it and he watched Oikawa's smile grow wider than he had seen in quite a while, and he let out a bit of a giggle as he looked back down to his lap. "Awe, you didn't have to say I'm a good person, Tsukki-chan! I already know I am," he said. This was exactly why Kei knew it was a mistake. On the surface, he was always annoyed whenever Oikawa had gotten too full of himself. But inside, he knew that Oikawa really did deserve it. He also knew that Oikawa really was a good guy.

After they finished up their emotional chat and Tooru reminded Kei that he was staying home, Oikawa had left and let Kei crash. He didn't realize just how tired he was and he had slept for twelve hours straight, only waking up to the alarm he had set on his phone.

Once he had gotten ready for his day, Tsukki had followed after Oikawa and Suga, who were chatting about their latest problem that Kei really couldn't give an ounce of attention to. He could have, but he really just didn't care at the moment. Once they had separated, Kei was walking towards his wing of the building when he saw it. There they were, leaned up against the wall, standing maybe six inches from each other, and talking animatedly with one another. There was even a moment that she had reached out to touch his arm before pulling it away.

Why did it bother Kei so much? Why did he care who Yamaguchi spent time with? It might have been due to the fact that it was a girl that he was spending time with, it also might have had to do with the fact that she was all the way over in the dancer wing when the music side of campus was on the other side of school. Kei just couldn't take seeing this anymore. At the very least, there were still ten minutes before class, and even though he had made a promise to Oikawa that same morning about not purging that day, he was about to break that promise.

Walking passed the pair and shuffling into the bathroom, Tsukishima chose a stall to do his usual routine in and he locked the door before he shoved three fingers down his throat and started to vomit. There was actually something in his stomach. Oikawa had forced cheerios on him this morning, so he watched to see the disintegrating, small circles floating around in the toilet. This time, the emotion he felt was a mix between anger and sadness, and it was disturbing how he was letting himself get so worked up over this. 

He hadn't put his headphones on this time, as he was just far too frustrated to do so. As he wiped his lips and took the bottle of water out of his bag to rinse out his mouth out, he sighed as he stood up and went to go wash his hands.

Exiting the stall, there was a familiar voice that echoed throughout the bathroom. "Are you okay?" Yamaguchi asked as he looked at Kei with concerned eyes. "I'm sure if you're sick, the teachers will understand. Maybe you should go get some rest..." he said with a frown on his face. It actually sounded like the boy was concerned.

Thoughts were racing through his head until he realized just then that he didn't have to make up an excuse. "Oh, uh... I'm sick, actually. My fever broke this morning, but this is probably just leftover from what I've had all week. I hope you don't get sick, since we're dance partners and all..." Kei said, faking his own concern about Yamaguchi being sick. In all honesty, if the other boy was actually sick, he would feel terrible about it because Kei had caused all of this.

Thinking for a moment, Tadashi hummed a bit. "I'm feeling okay. Thanks for your concern though. Is everything okay with you otherwise? You didn't answer my texts and we skipped rehearsal this week..." That was when his heart started to clench and he had gone to wash his hands. Tsukki wasn't too sure that he would be able to look Yams in the eyes.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I'm sorry about not answering you back this week, the club called and needed more employees all week, since a dancer had to leave for family reasons," Kei lied easily as he continued to wash his hands. He finished washing them and he went to the paper towel dispenser.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Yamaguchi smiled slightly at Kei and he waited in the bathroom, watching as Kei made his way towards the door. Yamaguchi followed after. "I'm sorry your coworker is having family issues, but I'm just glad you're not avoiding me or anything. I probably should have asked yesterday, but with the quiz in both of our morning classes, you being in a different ballet, and us not having modern dance... It didn't feel like the right timing. You have to work tonight anyway, right?"

If only Yamaguchi knew how wrong he was and that Tsukishima really was avoiding him, he wouldn't feel the relief he was feeling. Tsukki really was avoiding him, though, and it was the entire reason that Tsukki had run to the bathroom to get sick. Tadashi didn't need to know about his eating disorder, though. Tsukki didn't want the boy learning anymore about him than he had already known. "I do, yeah. We can rehearse again on Saturday if you want," Kei said as he walked into the classroom. It was a relief that Yachi had been gone by the time they reached the hall. Maybe Tadashi had told her to go to class.

"Oh, uh... do you have work on Sunday? I can switch things around, but I was planning on going to the fair with Yachi on Saturday."

Those words were absolutely poison to Kei's ears. Why was the little blonde _bitch_ getting the chance to go to the fair with Yamaguchi? It was comical to Kei, really. The moment he opened himself up was the moment he had always gotten hurt. It was always like this, really. Kei was always anticipating the inevitable hurt he would face if he opened himself up to people. That was why his walls were so tall and thick.

Clearing his throat and fighting the urge to go vomit again, because really, what else was there going to be in his stomach other than bile? "I do have to work on Sunday, but it's alright. Go enjoy time at the fair with... her." Kei wasn't even able to force himself to say her name. That was how destroyed he was about all of this. That was how much he had unfairly judged her and hated her. Even though he had seen her face have that strange, evil look the night that she asked Yamaguchi to join her, he was sure Hitoka wasn't _all_ that bad.

Letting out a bit of a laugh as the class started to stretch themselves out, Yamaguchi sat down and started to bend out his back. "Thanks, I'll try to enjoy things with Yachi. Sunday will be our first official week of dating, which is pretty cool, I think."

Did Kei just hear that right? Had Yamaguchi just said what he thought he said? There was absolutely no way that any of this was right? Feeling his heart clench in his chest and closing his eyes as he started to stretch, Tsukishima wanted to go punch a wall. He wanted to go puke up every last ounce of bile in his stomach. "O-Oh, it's a date then? That's cool," Tsukishima said quietly. The tone of his voice didn't give away how upset this whole thing had made him, but maybe the way his volume had dropped did.

Unfortunately, it gave absolutely nothing away. "Yeah, it's a date. We're calling our first date the night that we ran into each other when you and I were out walking that night. Thanks for the help, by the way!"

This whole conversation was going to make Kei pass out. There was no possible way that Kei was going to make it through dancing next to Yamaguchi today without at least going to go relieve himself again. At the very least, they weren't partnering today. They were just simply working on the group dance number. "Yeah, sure. Anytime," Kei said as the teacher walked in. At the very least, she wasn't late today.

But that was when the teacher had started to speak. "You know what, guys? I was going over the choreography of the number, and I think it could use some lifts. We should try to add some of those in, somewhere. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, can you come to the center of the class? I want to see if I can make this happen." This really couldn't have gotten worse, Kei was thinking, and he followed after Yamaguchi as everyone else backed up and watched.

"Okay, so let me queue up the part here... there we go. Do you hear where the drum hits right... there? That's when I want Yamaguchi to jump in the air and for Tsukishima to reach for his right arm and left leg. I think it would be a cool thing if Yamaguchi looked as if he was slipping through Tsukishima's fingers, since that's the theme of the song. Love that you let fall through your hands," the teacher had explained to the class.

There couldn't have been something more representative of Kei's feelings at the moment. The two boys had attempted the move, and Yamaguchi had nailed the move and did a roll onto the ground into the next part of their dance. Kei on the other hand, the emotions written all over his face had said that he was fitting into the story line of this dance, but he failed to move into their next movements. "Alright, good job guys. Let's try it again so the class can-"

"Ma'am... Uh, I was just getting over being sick this morning, but I think it might be coming back..." Kei said as he looked at the teacher. He only said it quiet enough for the teacher and Yamaguchi to hear. A problem arose and Tsukishima was now looking at the concerned look that Yamaguchi had on his face. That was a look he really never wanted to see, so why was he making the face? Regardless, Tsukishima really didn't feel like he could sit through class with Yamaguchi again and do that dance move.

The teacher frowned and nodded, allowing Kei to excuse himself and leave the class. "Feel better," Yamaguchi murmured to him as Kei left.

At the very least, the halls were clear and so was the bathroom. This time around though, Kei didn't want to go to the stall to get sick. Initially, he wanted to, but now there was something else happening inside of him that he just couldn't hold back. Tsukishima felt a wail start to rip through his chest and he started to scream out. The blond had actually started to pull on his hair as he yelled out and he was starting to feel just a little dizzy. Thinking through his options, he could just go home to see his mom and email his other professors. Or, he could stick out the next few classes and sit through the hour he had with Yamaguchi in psych class, go have lunch and beg Oikawa or Suga to let him have the key so he could go back.

Honestly, neither option really seemed like fun. "I hate you..." Kei said as he stood over and leaned against the sink, staring himself in the mirror. He was saying that to himself he realized, because he didn't hate Yamaguchi. He liked Yamaguchi.

Kei was saying he hated himself because he had let Yamaguchi in close enough for Kei to actually like the boy. At that moment, Kei realized just how fucked he was.


	7. Chapter 7

It wasn't that Kei had liked the idea, because he was working himself more and more by agreeing to this, but he had promised Yamaguchi to keep up their practicing finally. There had been a lot of avoidance on Kei's end still, as there were still mixed feeling about this whole Yamaguchi situation and how he felt about that girl. Tsukki refused to use her name, even when in conversation with Yamaguchi. He had found out that just after a couple weeks, the two were now in a relationship, so that aided into avoidance of Yamaguchi and put an arrow through Tsukki’s heart. Why it had, he wouldn’t know, but he tried to avoid the topic as much as possible.

But they still had to perform their dance. They still had to practice. They still had to decide on props and how to set up the stage, what they were going to wear, and the visual effects for the stage. It was a good thing that Tsukishima was crashing with two boys that were theater majors, so he could run anything and everything to do with production by the two of them and they had so much to say. Really, Tsukki didn’t know what he would do without those two lunatics.

Either way, though, Tsukishima was running himself down to the bone, and that was both a figurative and a literal statement. The boy didn't have time to think about sleep, so why would he think about eating? Whenever he was at Oikawa's and Suga's apartment, Oikawa forced some rice, or a small salad, or some chicken soup on him, but Tsukishima didn't eat all of it ever, as he was just too busy. He was making himself busy though. This was all Tsukishima's fault, since he really just didn't want to think about Yamaguchi being with _her_ for even a moment. At least when the pair were practicing their routine, Yamaguchi didn't feel compelled to talk about her. When they were in class, the boy really didn't have time to talk about her to Tsukki. It wasn't so bad, but Yamaguchi had still been dating her. That was really all that mattered.

Feeling himself yawn as he stretched himself out in one of the dance studios, Tsukishima could feel the exhaustion hitting him. But it really wasn't a good time for him to be tired. After he and Yamaguchi practiced, Tsukishima had to go to work. He had just promised that he would practice today, so he had a couple of hours to work out the details of their dance and run through the routine three or four times. Unfortunately, he still had class work to get done, too, so he probably wouldn’t be sleeping tonight.

When the door opened, Yamaguchi had pushed the door open with his back to the room, clearly still chatting with someone. Hopefully, it wasn't the person that Tsukki thought it was. But as luck would have it, Yamaguchi was talking to Yachi. He let out a very sweet laugh, one that Tsukki hadn't been blessed with hearing lately, and then he did something that Tsukki thought he was going to have to get sick over.

Yamaguchi kissed Yachi's cheek. He actually went through and _kissed her cheek_! There was a sensation in his chest, one that he had rarely ever felt. It was emotional pain, and this was exactly why he didn't let himself get too close to anyone, and he rarely let the walls down enough for people to get close enough.

When the door had close, Yamaguchi had turned and he had a brilliant smile on his face, one that Tsukishima wished hadn't been caused by Yachi. But it was really just how it was, and Kei would have to realize that Yamaguchi was happy with the girl. It was disgusting, it hurt more than anything, but it was just something that Tsukishima was going to have to purge over once again. "Hey, Tsukki-Kun!" Yamaguchi yelled across the room, waving his arm to Tsukki and Tsukki gave a tiny wave back before he went back to stretching. "How's it going?"

_I want to claw out my eyes after seeing how you kissed Yachi's cheek, you?_ Tsukishima thought. He wasn't going to say it out loud, but that was honestly how the boy felt about the entire situation. It was a terrible situation to be in. Thinking about what he could say, he sighed and took another yawn. He really wasn't going to last much longer, but he absolutely had to, now that he been witness to something so foul and disgusting. "It's going alright. Should we stretch and start with dancing?" Tsukishima asked.

It would have been the nice thing to do, to ask Yamaguchi how he was doing as well, but Tsukki really didn't want Yams to talk about his budding relationship with the girl that was going to be the absolute death of Tsukishima one day. "We can, sure! I planned some outfits for the routine too, if you wanted to give them a look so we can talk about them? You can run them by your two friends there too, if you want. But I think they just fit."

Nodding as he stood up, Tsukishima let out another yawn and he stretched upwards a bit, but this time, it wasn't to stretch out his muscles for dance. It was to rid himself of the exhaustion he started to feel in himself.

"We'll go over those in a bit. Let's just get the dancing done," Tsukki said as he queued up the song and he went to go take position. He had the song set on a delay so he could press play and get set with enough time, but he wasn't planning on dancing until Yamaguchi had stretched out enough. But he seemed to get into his starting place without stretching. It was a fair thing to do, as they had been dancing in the last hour as it was. "You ready?" Tsukishima asked as he restarted the song and he set the phone down, going to get into position himself.

Nodding, Yamaguchi had to focus and get himself geared for all of this. Tsukishima really should have done the same, but he was just in a mood at the moment. He could do this routine in his sleep by now, which was his goal from the beginning. The pair started, and they looked at each other as they were meant to for the dance.

Bodies moved, beats were hit, breathing became heavy after an hour, and there were two boys laying down on the floor again. Tsukki had groaned as he rubbed his eyes, trying to get the exhaustion out of his eyes. But then, he groaned as he thought about the next part of the to-do list as well. They were supposed to talk about outfits today at the very least, because the boys needed to do a full production for this project. In reality, the boys didn't have to do more than just a full routine, but they were looking to get the best grade as possible, so they figured they would go above and beyond for this project and let their teacher see how much work they put in.

It couldn't have been any more unlucky that Tsukishima had gotten a call right at that moment. So he went to his phone, that was ringing away, and he looked to see who it was. "Oh, uh... it's my brother. I should take this," Kei said as he excused himself to go have a conversation with his brother. "Hey, what's up?" he asked as he stepped out into the hall, holding his phone up to his ear. His back was to Yamaguchi at the moment, and he could hardly see what Yamaguchi was up to anyway. He was probably just relaxing, or pulling up his outfit ideas.

"Is dad home right now? Do you know?" Akiteru had asked as Kei pressed his fingers into the bridge of his nose, trying to wake himself up. It definitely was nice to hear his brother’s voice, as he didn’t get to see his brother too often. He lived two cities away and his brother came to visit often, but Kei really didn’t get the chance with school anymore.

Humming at the question, Tsukki had to think for a moment. His exhaustion was trying to win, but he really just wasn’t going to let it happen. "I don't think so, actually. Hasn't been for a few weeks, but you never know with him. Mom still at work? Couldn't you ask her?" Kei asked as he listened to his brother groan.

Their father was always away for business, which was good for the two of them and it was a relief to see their mother getting yelled at and bossed around a little less. They always tried to be the barrier whenever they could. "She's not answering her phone. I thought maybe you would know, but I guess I will just have to go home anyway. I need things, just for a presentation at work. How’s school and work going?” Akiteru had asked.

Kei knew his brother was just trying to be nice to ask Kei about himself, but he knew his brother was a busy person. He probably didn’t have time to keep talking. “Eh, it’s alright. I’m managing,” Kei had said, giving his brother a way out.

"Hope you're doing okay. Either way, things will get better! I will talk to you later. Love you, bro," Akiteru said and Kei was about to reply when he realized Akiteru had ended the call.

Letting out something between a groan and a sigh, Kei had gone back into the dance studio and watched Yamaguchi take drink from his water bottle. That seemed like a great idea right then, which was why Tsukishima went to go grab his own water bottle. "Sorry. Family stuff. Anyway, should we go over your outfit plans?" Tsukishima asked before taking a sip of his water. It was honestly warm water at the moment, but it was refreshing enough, so it was good enough. He wondered if he should change it, because it had an odd taste to it. But he would worry about that later.

Looking up, Yamaguchi nodded as he waved Kei to come look at his phone. This wasn't something that he would usually do, especially with Yamaguchi, because he really needed to be careful with the boy. But regardless, he came over as Yamaguchi finished up typing, and then he went back to his home screen. It made Kei nauseous to look at the screen and he had to look away as Yamaguchi pulled up what he wanted Tsukishima to look at. The background picture was of the _girl_ and Kei really didn't think he could handle seeing such a picture once more.

Finally, Yams had brought the picture up that he wanted to show Tsukki. "So I'm thinking about wearing this, or something similar to it. It will work with the message we are trying to convey, and then when we go into the middle of the dance, and I take off my jacket, I can reveal that I had on a leotard the whole time," Yamaguchi showed him another picture. It was really a good idea, and Tsukki really enjoyed the images that the boy had come up with. "Then for you... I think maybe you can just start in something like... this, and you'll obviously lose the tutu and you can put a hat on like this one? I don't know, it really isn't a set in stone idea at the moment. But at least the hat is a little less ridiculous than the beret we've been borrowing from your friend." 

Tsukishima yawned again, and it was as if his body had started attacking him, telling him that he needed to sleep. Maybe, if the boys had wrapped this stuff up, he could go take a twenty minute nap before work. "I like that. I wonder if I could wear sport shorts under the tutu and make it look like you’re really transforming me," Kei offered. Honestly, their routine wasn’t too far off from the truth of their situation.

The two boys sat and had a chat about their routine for another twenty to twenty five minutes. In that time, they talked about how they were really proud of their idea, how they should express their emotions on their face a little more, a conversation about what color they wanted the lighting to be had happened, and they didn't seem to be doing anymore with their routine. It really did seem like they had it all planned, which was a relief. 

So when they were finally just talking about classes and started to talk about the next time they would be able to meet up, Tsukishima let out an excessively large yawn. "Ouch, sorry. I think I should get going so I can get a nap in before work. I don't know why I'm so tired all of a sudden. I mean... I've still been working extra shifts, but I'm usually not this tired..."

Pushing himself up to stand, Yamaguchi offered Kei a hand and pulled him up as well. "It's all good. You probably should get back to Suga's. It's closer than your family’s house from what you’ve told me, and I don't want you to hurt yourself at work," Yamaguchi said with a bit of a sheepish smile. There was something a little suspicious about the smile that Yamaguchi was displaying, as if he had something to hide, or like he had been guilty of something. That really was an odd thing to see.

As they started to walk, Tsukki had to watch where he was walking, because he really didn't feel too steady on his feet. What was his issue with all of this? Why was he struggling so hard to keep himself awake? At the very least, he still had two hours before he had to be to work, so he could get to the apartment, finish up on his psych homework, then take a bit of a nap. Hopefully said nap would get him energetic enough to make it through work. "You're not looking so good. I'll walk you back, okay? I don't want anything to happen..." Yamaguchi said. Again, the tone to his voice seemed as though he was hiding something.

"Don't worry about me, I can man-" Tsukishima had stumbled and had to catch himself on Yamaguchi. There was no reason he should be this tired, so why was he? This was beyond ridiculous. Maybe he really was pushing it too hard. He knew that Oikawa and Suga wanted him to cut back on his hours at work, but they just didn't understand. As Kei looked over to Tadashi, he sighed at the worried look on his face. "If it will make you feel better, you can walk me back home..."

It seemed to make Yamaguchi's face light up that Tsukishima was going to let him walk with Tsukishima back him. Even though he couldn't have him, Tsukki was glad that he could make the boy more excited like that. He really was a dangerous sight to see, being filled with that energy and the shy smile coming to his face. Kei didn't know how much more of this he could handle seeing. "It will. Just lead the way," Yamaguchi said, continuing to hold onto Tsukki's arm. They continued to walk, although it was going slower than Tsukki had wanted.

As Kei had looked over to Yamaguchi, he stumbled a bit because he wasn't focused on where he was going. It was lucky that Yamaguchi was helping him walk right then, because he probably would have fallen if it weren't for Yamaguchi. "Let's go a little slower, yeah? You're all good, I've got a hold on you," Yams had said with a soft smile. This was definitely not a good thing. Was he sick? Was there something attacking his brain? This was all sorts of unsettling for Tsukishima right now, as he really wanted to know what was wrong with him.

They continued to walk, but Kei was starting to get confused by the street signs. "Yamaguchi... I... I'm lost..." A whine escaped Kei's lips as he pulled away and sat down, right in the middle of the street. If he weren't so exhausted, he would have realized how terrible of an idea that was, especially in a college town. But right now, he simply did not care.

Frowning, Yamaguchi used his strength to pull Tsukishima to his feet. It wasn't very difficult, especially with how out of it Tsukki had been. "Give me your phone, I'll contact Oikawa and have him tell me where to go so I can take you home. It's not too late, so he should still be awake." Yamaguchi held onto Kei's hand with one of his own, and he held his other hand out to the taller boy. "If you want to get home, we should call him," Yamaguchi said as he also pulled Tsukishima onto the sidewalk.

It was such an odd feeling for Tsukishima to feel, but he really just wanted to lay down and sleep, right then and right now. Sure, he always wanted to sleep lately, but not as badly as he wanted to right now, and definitely not in the middle of the sidewalk. Letting out a sigh, Tsukki unlocked his phone and he handed it over to Yamaguchi. He wasn't sure what had come over him, but he didn't even have the mind to realize that Yamaguchi was holding onto his phone and he was willingly letting the boy get into it. Clearly, Tsukki was out of his mind right now.

After Yamaguchi sent the message out, he had looked over to Tsukishima, who had held his hand out for the phone to get back. Yamaguchi was going to wait for a response from Oikawa first, but he knew that Tsukishima wanted it back. Apparently he had decided that texting Oikawa would work just as well. Unbeknownst to Tsukishima at the time, he was just too worried that calling Oikawa would distract him too much. 

Maybe Yamaguchi should have gotten Suga's and Oikawa's phone numbers for himself, but there was no way that Tsukki could think of such a thing right now because his brain was fried. Honestly, he was just happy that he remembered his phone and his bag at all, since he was so out of it and could have easily forgotten with the state he was in. "Alright... He messaged back. Here," Yamaguchi said as he slipped the phone back in Tsukishima's pocket. "I know where to go now. Ready?" The boy asked softly and he went back to holding Tsukishima's hand and arm.

Thinking for a few seconds, Tsukishima finally nodded and he let Yamaguchi lead the way. It really was starting to get dark out, and it concerned Tsukishima, as he wasn't sure he would be able to get his homework done in time for work now, being as tired as he was. "This is nonsense... Yamaguchi, why am I so..." Tsukishima paused and he had to shake his head to get himself to wake up enough to remember where he was. He was walking to Oikawa's apartment, that's right. "Sleep..." he mumbled. It was clearly the only thing on his mind at the moment.

When Yamaguchi had made a sound out of agreement and continued to lead the way, they stayed rather silent after. It didn't take too much longer for the pair to reach the apartment and Oikawa was right there at the front door to catch Tsukishima from stumbling inside. "Thanks, Yamaguchi. I'll get him to bed... I wonder why he's so tired. I've seen him go longer and harder than this before. It's never been this bad,” Oikawa said in a worried voice. Tsukki was far too tired to catch the look of concern on his friend’s face.

Tsukishima had blocked out the sound of Yamaguchi speaking at that moment, because Suga had come over and had started to take Tsukki to his bedroom. "Come on, babe. You're tired. Let's get you laid down. I won't even push dinner on you. You need sleep, I'll just have you eat later," Suga had said as he opened Tsukki's door.

Probably three seconds later, Tsukishima had crawled into bed. He was hardly aware that Suga had taken his shoes off and unwrapped his backpack from his arms. He was just that tired that he wasn't conscious of all of this happening, and he really just didn't care about it. All he cared about was getting into sleep mode.

Suga hadn't even left the room before he had passed out, going straight into a slumber. It had been six or so when he passed out, and when he woke up due to his bladder yelling at him that he needed to relieve himself, he groaned as he pushed himself out of bed and he went out to go to the restroom. He was expecting to see the lights on, but it was surprised to see that only the dining room lights were on. Tsukishima couldn't care about that right now, as he needed to pee.

After he relieved himself, he came back out to the kitchen, going into the dining room to see Oikawa sitting there, Suga leaned over Oikawa's shoulders. Tsukki really didn’t give their relationship enough credit, but they were really a good couple. It seemed like they were made for one another. But that was when Suga had laid his eyes on Tsukishima and the boys both looked up to him, straightening out a bit. "Hey, Tsukishima-kun. How did you sleep? We were going to wake you so you could sleep tonight and eat dinner, but you were too tired for that. We tried..." Suga said with a bit of a wince on his face.

Hearing Sugawara say that they tried to wake him, and that they were trying so he could sleep tonight made Tsukki tense a bit. "I slept really well, actually. I feel really refreshed, too. What... time is it, though? I have to get to work..." Tsukishima said as he stretched his tired body upward, hoping he could shake himself of the sleepy feeling that was still sticking to him. It was just grogginess.

Both boys froze, then they slowly turned their heads to look at one another. "You... had to work tonight?" Oikawa asked, giving him a sheepish look, much like the one that Yamaguchi had given to him earlier, but there was less of a smile behind his cheeks and eyes. This was not going to end well.

"Yes, I have to work tonight. I'm not going to have time for sleep after, because I still have homework to do, but since I just slept for a while, I can manage. What time is it?" Tsukishima asked again, forgetting that he had his phone with him in his pocket, so he could just check himself.

After a squeak from Oikawa, he covered his face and shook his head. "I hope Saeko doesn't kill you... I'm sure she won't, you've been working extra hours anyway..." Oikawa said through his palms. What in the world was going on? This was going to drive Tsukki insane.

That statement had confused Tsukishima. Why would Saeko kill him? It dawned on him that he might already be late, because he noticed that out the window, it was completely dark already and the moon was high in the sky. But that was pretty common for this time of year. "Why would she kill me? I'm already late, aren't I?" Tsukishima asked with a look of concern on his face. When neither boy had given him an answer, he had started to back up and he run into his room. He didn't register that Oikawa and Suga had followed him and had gone to the door, standing in the door frame.

The two boys stood there as Tsukishima had started to get dressed. "I'll just do extra for my shows to make up for being late. Shoot, I hope Saeko can forgive me..." he said, pulling on a pair of tight leggings, then going to put on a tight, sequined tank top.

"Tsukki-chan, it's too late for you to go in. Even to be just a little late, it's too late. It's already one-thirty... You're three and a half hours late..." Oikawa said, a soft sound of apology in his voice. "And I know you usually close, so you still have an hour and a half to dance, but... Three and a half hours is a little too late. You probably wouldn't get there for another half hour, so you'd be there for an hour... I think you should just call Saeko and apologize to her... There's nothing you can do about it now,” Oikawa said in a murmur. It was times like this that Tsukishima wished Oikawa wasn’t as rational as he was.

Hearing Oikawa, Tsukishima started to crumble a bit. He had missed work completely? He slept for seven and a half hours? How? Why didn't he set an alarm? Although, by the sounds of it, he wouldn’t have woken to the alarm anyway. "It's... one-thirty...?" Tsukishima asked in a defeated voice as he slowly raised his head and looked up to the pair. They both nodded and Suga had sighed. At least they seemed to feel bad for not being able to wake him. But had they even actually tried? Tsukishima hadn't been too sure of that, as he was usually a very light sleeper, so he couldn't possibly sleep through the boys trying to wake him right? "Shit... Well, I guess I have time to do my homework then..."

"That's definitely looking on the bright side, Tsukki-Kun! Maybe you can eat a little, too, since I'm sure you're hungry after sleeping like that," Suga had said innocently. Tsukishima and Oikawa shared a glance, one where they knew for a fact that Tsukki wasn't likely to eat. "I'm gonna go to bed, babe. I'm tired. That project doesn't need to be finished until next week, so we can work on it tomorrow," Suga said. “I love you… come join me soon?” He kissed Oikawa's cheek after he asked his question and walked off.

Turning his head and smiling in Suga's direction, Oikawa turned to look back at Tsukishima with a very soft and innocent look on his face. "Don't know what I did to deserve him..." Oikawa had said in a near whisper before he cleared his throat and realized that he needed to be talking to Tsukishima about something. "Oh, okay. So, Tsukki-Chan, I need to talk to you. You're going to hate me, but it needs to be done. You need to go back to only working two days a week, or work only on weekends. You are exhausting yourself and you need to thank Yamaguchi for getting you home," Oikawa said as he came to sit next to Tsukishima on the floor, where he was still sitting from crumbling just moments ago.

This really wasn't what Tsukishima needed to hear. But maybe Oikawa was right. He knew very well that even though he didn't require too much sleep, he still needed a little bit of sleep because if he wasn't eating, there was nothing that was really giving him the proper energy to function through the day. "I think you're right... I'll tell Saeko that I need to cut down my work schedule again. Oh, and yeah, I really should text him and tell him that I really appreciate him getting me home. It was really just nice to have him there."

Humming and nodding, Oikawa put his arm around Tsukishima's shoulders. It wasn't too long before Tsukki had shrugged the arm off and Oikawa was back to pouting. But he didn't try to push it. "I'm going to go join Suga. I'm exhausted and I don’t want him to be asleep by the time I get there. If you can, get your homework done and then get back to sleep. I don't want your sleeping schedule to get even more messed up after this whole ordeal. Have a nice night, Tsukki-Chan," Oikawa said as he stood up in a very graceful manner. It actually was a very smooth way to stand up, and Tsukishima couldn't deny that. Sometimes, Tsukki wondered why Oikawa wasn't in dance as well. He knew why Suga wasn't, because he got too up in his head to really move smoothly. He could dance, Tsukishima knew, but that just wasn't a passion of his. He much preferred the acting upon a stage. Oikawa as well, although Oikawa seemed to move in a much more fluid way than Suga did.

It was such an unfair thing. Oikawa seemed to be good at just about everything he did. But Tsukishima knew that he worked very hard to achieve the status of which he was at. That was why he really couldn’t be mad that Oikawa was good at everything he did, because he worked hard to get there.

"Have a good night, Oikawa..." Tsukki murmured as he looked back down to his clothing. He decided to change back and throw himself into his homework for that night. It was right then that he realized he hadn't sent a message to thank Yamaguchi yet, so he decided he would do that right then before he got into his homework.

**Me (1:47 AM):**  
_Hey, so thank you for getting me home. I was so tired that I crashed and didn't wake up in time to go to work. But I'll just make it up to Saeko at some other time._

After sending the message to Yamaguchi, he pulled out his laptop and opened it up, going to start on one project or another. He really didn't know how to handle having this extra time and actually being rested enough to be conscious of the work he was doing. He knew it would take him about no time at all, but he still had to do it. Sighing as he began to work, he typed up the first paragraph before he felt his phone buzz against his thigh.

**Yamaguchi (1:53 AM):**  
_I'm sorry you missed work, but you definitely needed sleep. No problem on getting you home, I kind of felt like I had to anyway..._

What did Yamaguchi mean by that? It kind of felt like the boy was going back to being shady about something, as if he was guilty. But Tsukki couldn't see the look on his face. Although, he was definitely imagining a cute and guilty look on Yamaguchi's face again. This still didn't make him feel any better. As cute as the image was, it really didn't make Tsukishima feel better about the situation.

As he started to compose a message back to Yamaguchi, he let out a bit of a growl as he stared at his phone. This was definitely an unsettling thing, but Tsukki didn't know if he could just let it go.

**Me (1:54 AM):**  
_What do you mean by 'I kind of felt like I had to'? Why did you feel that way?_

If Yamaguchi wasn't going to text him back, Tsukishima would absolutely have to track him down and figure out what Yamaguchi meant. It was lucky that they were dance partners. Was he actually guilty of something? This was still unnerving to Tsukishima. It was going to bother him until Yamaguchi gave him an answer.

There was absolutely no way that Tsukki was going to be able to focus on his homework now, but he had to try. He wanted to at least get done what was due before he went to class the next day. Right now though, he didn't care how decent it was. He just wanted to get it done so he could focus on Yamaguchi and the stress that was building up inside of him about this situation. His brain was likely to explode if he didn't get an answer soon.

It was only after Tsukishima had finished his psych assignment that he had gotten a text back from Yamaguchi. It wasn't too terribly long, he supposed, but it seemed to take longer than it should have. As he started to read the message, it really didn't make him feel better about anything at all.

**Yamaguchi (2:09 AM):**  
_Well, I mean, can't I be worried about you? I didn't want you to get hurt and like... You were really just that tired. I didn't think that could happen._

What was it that he didn't think could happen? Tsukishima wasn't going to rest until he got a clear answer to all of this. Yamaguchi was really being shady and Tsukishima really didn't like it. If his dance partner was going to be up to shady business, he would have to ask the professor to give him a different partner, and talk to the school about investigating whatever it was that was going on. But maybe that was taking it just a little too far. 

Taking a moment to breathe in and do his best to calm himself down, Tsukishima looked back down at his phone and began to compose a text message once again. He was taping so furiously that he was making errors and he had to start over more than just once. Finally, he finished the message and he looked over his work, deciding it was too long of a message and deleting it. What was he going to say? 

He finally figured out how to reply and he typed it out and pressed send. He didn't need to be too invasive right now, especially because he wasn't too sure that Yamaguchi was actually up to dangerous things. 

**Me (2:12 AM):**  
_You didn't think what could happen? What did you do?_

Now, Kei was still trying to pry in on Yamaguchi a little, because he was behaving and texting a little too strangely for Kei to think there was nothing else going on. Maybe the boy had nothing to hide and Kei was just worried for nothing, but he still wanted to figure out what it was that Yamaguchi was being so shady about. He still wanted to know just what Yamaguchi was hiding that he felt he had to be guilty.

**Yamaguchi (2:14 AM):**  
_You're going to get mad. Just know that I was only worried about you..._

**Me (2:14 AM):**  
_Yamaguchi, what am I going to get mad about?_

It wasn't as if Yamaguchi was usually this secretive about things, and he really didn't seem to have much to hide as it was. Tsukishima still had things to hide and it would have been normal for him to behave this way. Sighing gently, he waited for Tadashi to answer him back. He waited for what felt like a lifetime, because honestly? It was really driving him insane not to know what Yamaguchi was hiding right now. This was beyond miserable. "Just tell me..." he mumbled as he laid back against the pillow. He was feeling far too antsy to lay down for sleep, and there was no way he could just get back to sleep after sleeping for as long as he did. He was sure he had to have slept for at least seven and a half hours, if not longer than that.

That was when his phone buzzed again. He wasn't too sure he wanted to see the response Yamaguchi had sent. He wasn't sure he wanted to know what Yamaguchi had done. But he really wanted to know at the same time. His curiosity was brimming over. As he looked at his phone, all he could see on his screen was something that still didn't answer his question.

**Yamaguchi (2:16 AM):**  
_I'm sorry, Tsukki..._

That was absolutely not the answer that Tsukishima wanted to see. He didn't want Yamaguchi to be apologizing for something that Tsukki didn't even know about, or even found worthy for Yamaguchi to be apologizing about. Really, though, he couldn't muster up the energy to yell at Yamaguchi again or ask him what he meant by that. So he would just have to wait.

It only took another four minutes for Tsukki to get another message, and this one was longer, so hopefully it answered the question.

**Yamaguchi (2:20 AM):**  
_So... I want you to know that I really am sorry, but... I've been noticing how tired you are, and I asked my brother to find out your work schedule. He said you'd been working extra hours according to his sister... I couldn't just let you do this to yourself, you know? You can't dance like that. I decided that you needed sleep, which you did! Again, I only did this because I was worried. But... I crushed up one of my brother's sleeping pills, the prescription kind, and when you were on the phone with your brother, I put it into your water bottle and shook it up... I am so sorry, Tsukki.._

Reading that message took Kei a little longer than he was anticipating, and it was a little harder to read than he wanted it to be. But when he got to the important part of the message, his eyes widened and he stared at the message, mouth starting to unhinge. "Y-you... you drugged me? Yamaguchi, you fucking... Aaaaah!" Normally, Kei would have been quiet for his friends that were trying to sleep. Normally, he would have just screamed into his pillow. But right then, right as he figured out what Yamaguchi had done, he just couldn't hold it back anymore. He really just couldn't wrap his head around the fact that Yamaguchi would go this far. They weren't more than dance partners! 

Sitting up and then going to go throw on actual clothing, he pressed the call button under Yamaguchi's name and he put it on speaker. The phone rang four times before it had stopped ringing, and the voice on the other side was very shy and quiet. "I really am sorry..." he answered in a soft voice, and really, Yamaguchi should have been sorry about this. He should have been more than sorry about the fact that he had gone as far as to drug Tsukishima. What was he thinking? Sure, he had said maybe one or two times to Tsukishima that he needed to take a break, but really, he hadn't tried hard enough to get Tsukishima to rest. He had just jumped the gun and he had made a decision that was so dangerous to his health.

"Meet me at the fucking club," Tsukishima nearly growled before he hung up, shoving his legs into some pants and walking his way to the front door. He probably didn't need to slam the door and potentially wake Oikawa and Suga up, but there was no time for thinking rationally right now. He didn't care if they woke up, He didn't care if they knew where he was going. All he cared about was telling Yamaguchi off right now. All he cared about was making Yamaguchi see that he was in the wrong and that he couldn't just drug someone to sleep like this.

As he all but ran to the club, he was so frustrated that angry, pissed-off tears were coming to his eyes. He made it in record time and he stood outside the club, panting just a little bit. He probably should have gone inside to explain to Saeko what had happened, but Kei really didn't know what had happened himself. It also wouldn't have been enough time, because Yamaguchi could be seen walking to the club right then.

Once Yamaguchi got close enough that he was only a few steps away, he stopped and looked at the club, before looking back at Tsukishima. "Really, I am s-"

Kei cut Tadashi off with a growl and he was nearly barking at that point. "You don't get it! I lost out on money tonight! Do you know why I do this? Do you know why I work so hard and why I am here so often? It's so I can _pay my mom back_ for paying my schooling without my dad knowing and for all those years she supported me! It's so I have somewhere else to go that isn't home when my dad is around so I don't have to see him hitting my mother when I can't get into Oikawa's place or hear how I need to be a better son and stop focusing on becoming a dancer! I work so hard because I'm _good_ at this, and if I wasn't any good at it, there's no point in being a dancer!" Tsukishima yelled, throwing his hands up in the air.

The look on Yamaguchi's face was surprise and he had some sort of terrified look on his face He really did look like a child being scolded, but that was what was happening. "I didn't... Tsukki, I'm sorry..." Yamaguchi said as he dropped his head. He looked like a toddler at this point, and he was sure being told off like one. There wasn't going to be an ounce of sympathy for the boy, though. He didn't deserve to have sympathy and he certainly deserved to feel miserable like this.

Groaning and turning around, Tsukishima put his hands on his hips. "You've done it this time, Yamaguchi. I don't know that I'll be able to forgive you for this. You know, I think you may want to start looking for a different dance partner. I don't know that I can be partners with you again. I'm going to tell the teacher about what happened and hopefully she'll reassign me. I don't know how likely that is, though, because we're already supposed to be halfway done with our projects. I've about had it with you, though," Tsukishima said as he slowly turned around with his hands still against his hips. "I have half a mind to report you to the school for this. Or I could just tell the campus police and tell them what happened too. You'd better hope that I still have my job after this, or you're going to go in and apologize to Saeko for what you did."

Yamaguchi's eyes widened and he reached into his pocket, pulling something out that Tsukishima couldn't tell what it was. But that was when he realized that it was a wallet. "I-I can pay you back whatever you would make in one night... I know this isn't enough yet, but please... let me repay you..." Yamaguchi said. He came closer and held out a stack of cash. It couldn't have been more than 80 dollars, and Tsukishima made a click of his tongue.

Shaking his head, Tsukishima looked into Yamaguchi's eyes with the dark, hateful look in his own. "You can't just pay your way out of this one. I don't want your money, I want to earn my own. You're going to pay for this in more than just one way, Yamaguchi, just not physically pay for it," Tsukki had said in a low, menacing voice. It was rather surprising that Kei had the ability to pull off a voice like that. Once he had finished, looked at the panic that was forming in Yamaguchi's eyes, he started to turn to walk towards the club. "I'm cancelling practice for tomorrow," Tsukishima called out as he walked into the club.

The anger that was building up inside of him had made him start to fume. He recognized Sora on the stage, and he really was doing his best right then. Hopefully Sora had offered to close, so Saeko wouldn't have to worry about it. But things really just didn't seem to be going his way tonight, so Saeko was probably freaking out.

Once he saw her, standing over by the stage and watching how the other dancers were walking between the few customers that had been there, Tsukishima went over to approach her. Kei had dropped his head the moment her view was on him. "I'm sorry for missing work tonight. It won't happen again, if I still have my job..." Kei had said, waiting for a response.

The girl had let out a bit of a laugh. "Tsukishima, you are more than okay. I was worried, but I knew you would have cleared it up sooner or later anyway. Just call me next time this happens, okay? And besides, you've worked more than enough in two weeks. I think you deserve to take time off," she said with a wink. "Now go get out of here before I change my mind," she said and she waved him off before she looked back at the performance on the stage that was making everyone whistle and pass cash up. Sora was probably the second or third best stripper there.

At least, he still had his job. At least he wouldn't have to worry about that little bit anymore. He said his goodbyes and he walked out the door, rubbing at his head. Yamaguchi wasn't there anymore, which was a relief, but there was still so much stress in his mind, and there was so much hanging over his head right now. This was going to be a long week ahead of him. Forgiving Yamaguchi was going to take work, too. It might not even happen, if he was being honest to himself.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ** THIS CHAPTER HAS VERY LEWD, VERY SMUTTY SCENES IN IT. DO NOT READ IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ SMUT. **
> 
> The smut is KurooTsukki smut. Anyone who is a TsukkiYama shipper and dislikes KurooTsukki, I am sorry, but this is how my intricate plot is working. I also may have made it a little more descriptive than I originally intended, but I have actually fallen in love with KurooTsukki recently, so that's why. Anyway, please enjoy!

After the entire incident with being drugged and forced to go to sleep, without giving consent, the tall, blond boy had resigned himself into studying and practicing his own private routine without having anyone near. That's how it had to be, as there was no way that Tsukishima was going to risk getting himself drugged again and end up being late for work once more. He didn’t trust being around Yamaguchi for that exact reason.

Now, it was after that little incident that Tsukishima had, he talked to Saeko once more, and she agreed to let him cut back his schedule again. She was such a good manager and she understood that school always came first. They were both sure that the regulars at Black Cats wouldn't be happy not to see him dancing as frequently as he was, but Tsukishima just couldn't do it anymore and he had to take care of himself. He couldn't manage to work five nights a week, get his school work done in a timely manner on top of actually attending class, and avoid Yamaguchi all at the same time. It was too much.

Avoiding Yamaguchi was starting to get more and more difficult. It had only been a few days since Yamaguchi had fucked up royally and cost Tsukishima a night without pay, but it was still becoming more and more difficult to avoid the boy. He just didn't want to talk to him anymore, and whenever Yamaguchi asked if they could practice their routine, Tsukishima had to make up an excuse. Eventually, Kei was going to have to talk to Tadashi. He knew it would have to happen. But Kei figured that until that day came, he could just continue with ignoring him.

As he sat in Oikawa's and Suga's apartment, just innocently working on homework, he stared down at his psychology work and he frowned. The front door opened up, and apparently the two that were walking through the door had been telling some sort of funny story. They were just holding onto one another and they came in grossly to the living room, where they were surprised to see Kei. "Oh, Tsukki-Chan! You're here! Wait... how are you here?" Oikawa asked with a puzzled look upon his face.

Rolling his eyes, Tsukki pulled out the set of keys from his pocket and tossed them to Suga, who caught them and smiled. "I've been borrowing Suga's keys. Don't worry, you didn't leave the door unlocked." Going back to his homework, Tsukishima groaned as he looked at the scenario in front of him, and it was starting to cause him a headache. Usually, psychology was easy. But the last couple of classes have become more difficult. "I think I need to go to the study building. I'm struggling too much and I don't want to get more of a headache," Tsukishima said with a frown as he closed his notebook and his textbook.

Humming, Suga thought that it was a good idea apparently with a nod, but he didn't say anything as he went into the kitchen and Oikawa took a seat next to Kei. "You know, maybe Yamaguchi can help. He's in your psych class, isn't he?" Oikawa asked.

Cringing, Tsukishima started to stand up. "I doubt he'd be able to help. I don't know what he's up to, anyway," Tsukishima said as he reached for his bag to start putting his things away.

Quirking an eyebrow, Oikawa sat up and pushed himself to the edge of the couch cushion. Kei would probably be better to just leave now before Oikawa delved into this topic any further. "You could ask him and maybe the two of you can work on it together though, eh?" Oikawa said. Tsukki looked at Oikawa with a very sharp pair of eyes. They were eyes that would have told anyone else that he didn't want to talk about any of this.

But Oikawa wasn't anyone else. "You know, you haven't practiced with him lately. That's a bad habit for you two to get into," Oikawa said as he stood up. Tsukki clicked his tongue, and he looked towards the door. It would have been easy enough to just walk away, but there was some nagging sensation inside of him that told him he would be better to hear Oikawa out.

Letting out a sigh, Kei knew that he was likely to argue with Tooru about this whole thing. It was just who they were, though. There was very little change that Kei would be able to avoid this. "He's just busy and I don't care if he doesn't care," Tsukishima said with a shrug.

Narrowing his eyes, Oikawa looked at Kei and stepped closer. "That's not like you, Tsukki-Chan. You almost always care," Oikawa said. It was a true statement.

There something in Tsukki just telling him to let Oikawa win this fight and he'd go talk to Yamaguchi. There was another part of him that was telling him that letting Oikawa win anything at all was a very big mistake and he wouldn't want to listen to Oikawa saying 'I told you so' over and over again. "You're avoiding him after the drugging thing, aren't you?" Oikawa asked, crossing his arms.

Tsukki's eyes traveled over to the door once more. There was such a strong longing to get out of there right now. That was exactly what Kei was going to do. He didn't have to sit there and take this from Oikawa. Sure, Tsukishima was avoiding Yamaguchi. But didn't he have a right to do so and stay mad at him? He did seem to feel bad after Tsukishima approached him, but that just wasn't enough to feel like he was punishing Yamaguchi. Sure, he was punishing himself too by not practicing his dance routine with Yamaguchi, but they still had time to work on it. "Yep. I'm not going to stop, either," Kei said as he walked towards the door.

After a particularly amusing sound of stress that escaped Oikawa's lips, the boy started to speak once more. "Tsukki-Chan, you have to stop avoiding him! Yes, what he did was wrong, but you know how bad he felt. I know you're not going to let your grade go down and fail your dancing assignment just for this."

Not justifying that comment with a response, Tsukki walked out of Oikawa's apartment, and he closed the door behind him. Hopefully, Oikawa would get it that he couldn't just tell Kei what to do or how to live his life. Usually, Oikawa was right about things and Kei probably would be better off to listen to him a little more often. But today was not the day he was going to start.

Today was the day he was going to finish his psychology assignment, and he might go exercise and grunt out his solo routine that was due for ballet in another week. He was going to start with the psych assignment, though, so that was where he began walking to.

Once he approached the student study center and entered, Kei put his bag down at a random table and he sat down, pulling out his assignment and looking at it once again. It was difficult for the boy to look over the assignment and actually focus on it without thinking about Yamaguchi. for one, he usually sat next to Yamaguchi in psychology and that hasn't changed, even after the incident. Granted, he really should keep Yamaguchi in his mind at all times now, as they were dance partners. But Yamaguchi had really fucked up with this, and Tsukki was just having such a difficult time forgiving him. Maybe part of the reason was because deep down inside and on a very subconscious level, he thought he was beginning to develop feelings.

Those feelings were lost and forgotten now, though. All he had on the surface were awful and hateful feelings about the boy.

In Tsukishima's mind, he had thought of plotting revenge, on finding a way to get over Yamaguchi, and he desperately wanted a way to get Yamaguchi out of his mind for good. That likely wasn't going to happen since he was still dance partners with the boy, but he needed to try to find a way for that to happen right at that moment.

The fact still remained that he desperately needed to get this psychology assignment done, though. Maybe if he could focus on his psych assignment, he could stop thinking about Yamaguchi.

He adjusted his glasses and he read through each of the different problems he had to solve once more, before he raised a hand for a tutor to come over and help him with his assignment. Maybe the assignment wasn't all that difficult. Maybe his mind was just too overrun with the thought of Yamaguchi invading it. If he cleared his mind, it would probably be easier, but there really wasn't any hope for Tsukki clearing his mind. He was still just so mad at the boy.

After raising his arm for probably a minute or so, Kei let it fall and he groaned, putting his temple in his hands and shaking his head to show just how frustrated he was. If a tutor wasn't going to come over, there was really just nothing left for Tsukishima to do. He didn't want to just put random answers and give an incorrect response, but maybe that was what he would have to do. It killed his intellectual mind, but he was getting desperate. 

As he picked up his pen, he heard a chair move out and he could feel someone suddenly sitting beside him. Slowly looking up, Kei moved his head towards the person, and he blinked to see Kuroo sitting next to him. There was a smile on his face, one that told Kei that he definitely wasn't innocent. But it wasn't exactly a devious smile, either. There was some sort of motive Kuroo had to that smile.

"Blondie, what's up? What are you struggling with?" Kuroo asked as he leaned over to see Kei's assignment a bit. That was when Kei realized that Kuroo was wearing one of the tutor name badges. "Oh, you're working on the psychology assignment. Technically, I'm not supposed to help you with this one. But if you don't tell anyone, I won't either," Kuroo said with a wink as he pulled Kei's notepad over and the homework notes closer to him. "I usually wouldn't expect to see you here. I mean, this assignment was more difficult, but I was able to figure it out," Kuroo said as he leaned over and Tsukishima started to tap his pen against the table.

Rolling his eyes, Tsukishima really didn't have the brain power to argue, and he didn’t think he wanted to explain anything to Kuroo about his personal stress causing him to not finish the assignment. Wasn't he just supposed to be here to help Tsukki with his homework? That was probably all that Kuroo was trying to do, though, he realized, and he let out a sigh. "I've just got too much on my mind to really focus on this... It's been difficult, really. I just want to forget things and focus on my homework, but-"

"Kuroo, you're not supposed to be on this side of the study center," a girl had said with a huff. She was clearly another student tutor who was there to work, and she apparently really liked to follow the rules. She gave him a look, and Kuroo looked up to her before he grimaced and looked at Tsukishima.

Letting out a sigh, Kuroo had leaned back in his chair. It was really just an unsettling situation where Tsukki wanted Kuroo to stay, but Kuroo had to behave and work as he was supposed to. So Kuroo smiled to Tsukki. "I'm off in like five minutes if you want to come back to my place and I can help you with the homework there?" Kuroo asked as he pushed himself up to stand next to Tsukki. "Maybe I can help get your mind off of those things, too," he said with another cheeky wink.

This was exactly what Tsukki was trying to be cautious about with that smile on Kuroo's face earlier. "If it's the only way I'm going to get my homework done, sure," Tsukki said as he started to pack up his bag. He wasn't so sure that Kuroo didn't have other things planned for Tsukishima, but there really was only one way to find out. It was probably the only way that Tsukki was going to get his homework done anyway.

As he waited, he looked at his phone to see another text from Yamaguchi, who had been texting him all week. Tsukishima had just been conveniently not texting him back.

**Yamaguchi (7:48 PM):**

_Tsukki, can we talk? I don't want to forget our dance and we really should practice it... I really am sorry..._

The anger that was boiling up inside of Tsukki at that moment was rather harsh and seething. He knew that he would have been good to forgive Yamaguchi, but what Yamaguchi had done had just been very unforgivable. It was funny, too, because Tsukki had watched Yamaguchi with one of his 'brothers' and he was yelling at Yamaguchi for what he had done to Tsukishima. There really wasn't anything too funny about this situation, but it was comical that Yamaguchi thought it was a good idea and his own family didn't think the same way.

No way was Tsukishima going to respond back to Yamaguchi, so there was little left for him to do. That was until his phone buzzed again. He thought it was going to be Yamaguchi again, but this time it was Oikawa. This was just a situation that was boiling all down to be a bad day. He needed to find a way to distract himself from his life, focus on his homework, and get over how terrible today was turning out to be.

**Oikawa (7:52 PM):**

_Listen, Tsukki-Chan... I'm only telling you these things for your own good. Really, it's your life and Suga convinced me to leave you alone. But I do wanna say that you should really do your best for your classes, including your dance classes with Yamaguchi._

There was no way that Tsukki was going to reply to that one. He was glad Suga was looking out for him, though. Sure, he was positive that Oikawa only wanted good things for him, but the way he approached this whole situation was just so damned irritating. It was as if he was trying to control Tsukki’s life, which was definitely a bad thing.

It took almost no time for Kuroo to come back, after looking over his shoulder to talk to the girl who had scolded him earlier. "Yeah, yeah, I only came to this side because I was almost done with my shift anyway. Won't happen again," Kuroo said as he turned his head back to Tsukishima and he winked in his direction. "It will if you're on this side though," Kuroo said quietly with a grin.

Once Tsukki stood up, he avoided Kuroo taking his bag by taking a few steps towards the front door’s exit. It was kind of humorous to see Kuroo try to take his bag, and get turned down though. "I don't know where you live, so you'll have to lead the way," Tsukishima said as he turned around, letting Kuroo walk out the door first. He took a left and they started to walk. "As long as this doesn't turn into a horror film thing where you hack me up with a hatchet, I'm cool with it."

A hearty laugh had left Kuroo as they continued to walk. "You've foiled my plot, Tsukki-Chan. Now I'll have to actually help you with your homework assignment. God damn," Kuroo said, getting Tsukki to snicker a little in return. Kuroo was a fun one, Tsukki did have to admit to that at the very least. There really was nothing wrong with Kuroo, either. He was an attractive man, only about an inch shorter than Tsukki. He had a very good sense of humor for most things, he was very thoughtful in other things, and he just seemed to care. Maybe he really was just a good man.

Tsukishima followed after Kuroo as he crossed the street and turned down a different road. "So hey, what's on your mind that's making this assignment too much to focus on?" Kuroo asked.

Tensing up a bit, Tsukki looked away from Kuroo as he walked side by side with the man. He shrugged a bit and he bit the inside of his lip, hoping that Kuroo would just drop this whole thing. "Just... something that happened," Tsukki murmured as his mind was snapped back to everything that had happened between himself and Yamaguchi.

There was a frown on Kuroo's face, and Tsukki didn't even have to look at it to know that there was. "Don't wanna tell me, huh? Well that's alright, we can still get your assignment done and we can find a way to distract you," Kuroo said. It was right then that Kuroo had turned towards an apartment building. The building was actually closer to the school than Oikawa's and Suga's apartment. It looked smaller and the other side was clearly throwing a party of some sort, but it was nice that Kuroo was so close to the school without living directly on campus.

After Kuroo opened the door and he flipped on a light, Tsukki walked inside slowly and he toed off his shoes, leaving them by the front door. Once the door was shut, Tsukki couldn't hear the ruckus from the neighbors next door, which was very nice. At least, Tsukki was sure it was nice for Kuroo to not have to hear his neighbors. "Snickers, get off of that," Kuroo said as he walked towards a cat in the small living room, who was sitting on a book on the coffee table. "Welcome to my very... small, but it's definitely a humble abode," Kuroo said with a bit of a laugh.

Stepping inside, Tsukki hummed a bit. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but it definitely wasn't this. He didn't anticipate Kuroo actually being clean. He would have expected Kuroo to have a giant mess to take care of, or for him to be scrambling to take care of something that Tsukki would pick on him for later. But it was actually very well maintained, Tsukki noticed. He was appreciative of that, and he was glad he wasn't walking into a messy space.

As Kuroo took off his shoes and set them by the door, he rose an eyebrow to Kei. "You are allowed to come sit down, you know. Hell, I'd let you eat the food in my fridge if I had anything good and I thought you would eat," Kuroo said with a laugh. It didn't take much more convincing than that for Kei to step inside the apartment. He took a seat on the sofa, avoiding sitting on top of Kuroo's cat, who was apparently named Snickers. The cat moved when Tsukki sat down anyway, but Tsukki wasn't bothered that the cat didn't want to be near him.

Pulling out his book and assignment notebook once again, he looked over to Kuroo, who was taking a seat himself. "You thirsty? I have water, sake, soda..." Kuroo said and Tsukki could only roll his eyes internally at the sake comment.

"I'm okay for now, thanks though," Kei had said as he looked down towards his assignment. He couldn't even write his name and the assignment title on the paper, because he had already done that. "Could we maybe just-"

Kuroo cut Tsukki off and he flinched a little. Kuroo's hand was on his face. Smiling a little, his lip was caught between his teeth before he explained himself. "Oh, uh... sorry, you had an eyelash..." Kuroo said. The hand lingered there for a little too long to actually be an eyelash, and Kei could actually feel his heart beating against his rib cage right then, pounding away and trying to escape. Kuroo's hand was on his cheek, his thumb was still thumbing very gently and slowly at Tsukki's skin.

It felt rather nice, actually. All words were escaping Tsukishima right then, as he slowly closed his eyes to the touch. This was something he was missing. This was something that could definitely distract him from all of the troubles Yamaguchi was causing him.

Slowly, but surely enough, Kuroo had shifted closer, and he had moved his hand slowly to the back of Tsukishima's head, tangling his fingers into the short, curly locks. His face had moved closer, and Tsukishima had opened his eyes slowly to see if Kuroo was moving closer. That's when he felt it. That was when Kuroo's lips were ghosting over Tsukki's own, and he could feel Kuroo's breath tickle his skin. It was warm and such a welcoming sensation. If Yamaguchi was going to strut around with that girl, then maybe Tsukki would walk around with Kuroo on his arm. Wasn't that the way it worked?

That was when it happened. Their lips connected, and Tsukishima closed his eyes, melting into the kiss. He was only melting because he needed this distraction. The kiss was good, too, which helped the situation. He reached his own hand over to Kuroo and he tugged Kuroo closer by his black shirt. Kuroo very clearly got the hint, and moved closer within a second. Maybe it was too close, because the boys had toppled over, onto the couch, and now Tsukki was on his back, with Kuroo hovering over him.

The kiss hadn't stopped, either, and it was getting to be more than just a kiss. Kuroo was trying to slide his tongue into Tsukki's mouth, and Tsukki was welcoming it one hundred percent. He opened his mouth a little wider, and Kuroo's tongue slipped into his mouth. There was something very sweet about the way Kuroo tasted. It was like a sweet potato, but it wasn't a bad taste. Not at all, and Tsukki was getting more and more of it as their tongues danced. It was kind of like Kuroo was sucking on a mint before they had done this. It was the flavor of candied yams. Yams that were sweet, yams that were soft and subtle. It was a good flavor, and Tsukki let his own tongue slide against the bumps of Kuroo's tongue, wanting more of the yams.

Before Tsukki knew it, his tongue was inside Kuroo's mouth, and they were just dancing against one another, sliding so smoothly. Right then, Kuroo had let his hand slip down to Tsukki's chest. He let it settle there for a minute, and it was a welcomed weight against Tsukki's body. Tsukki was certain that Kuroo could feel how quick Tsukki's heart was working to pump the blood through his body. It was definitely working to send his blood other places than his brain. The blood was certainly not going to the brain in his head, at the very least. The brain in his shorts was starting to take control.

Tsukki knew that Kuroo could feel how fast his heart was beating, as Kuroo smirked into the kiss that was still going. That was a sure sign.

Eventually, Kuroo pulled back, his hand sliding down Tsukki's chest and settling on his stomach. It was kind of unwelcomed to be there, but the kiss was keeping Tsukishima rather distracted. So even if it was subconsciously unwarranted, the brain he had right now was only focused on the kiss and how it was continuously taking his breath away. He could only sneak in a few gasps for air with the way they kept going.

That was when it happened. Kuroo's hand settled on the hem of Tsukki's shirt by his waste, and he slowly let his cold, cool fingers brush against Tsukishima's skin. It sent a tingling chill up Tsukki's spine, and he arched gently to the touch, pulling his mouth away from the kiss to throw his head back into the arm rest. He knew that if Kuroo felt long enough, he would be able to feel Tsukki's ribs, which was also very nerve-wracking for Tsukki to think about. "Ugh... Ku-" Tsukishima was cut off when he felt Kuroo's lips against his neck, pressing heavy and warm kisses against the column of his airway.

He could feel Kuroo's hair dance against his ear, the way it tickled his skin as Kuroo began to gently graze his teeth along Tsukki's skin. "G-gentle, I don't want... I'll have to u-use cover up if you're not..." That was when Kuroo had started to suck, and Tsukishima threw his head to the other side, letting out a moan and holding onto Kuroo's shirt, pulling on it to show how much he enjoyed this sensation. Even through his complaints, Tsukishima couldn’t help how his body responded.

After another moment, Kuroo moved his hand to rub against Tsukki's stomach. As he continued to suck on Tsukki's neck, his hand traveled down to the hem of Tsukki's shorts. He was patient, he waited to see if Tsukki would say anything, which was nice and all. But Tsukki wouldn't be able to say anything with the way Kuroo was pleasuring him and with the sounds he was causing Tsukki to make anyway. He wasn't being loud with the moaning, but he was definitely being persistent with the noises, as Kuroo was finding new ways to cause him pleasure with every glide of his teeth, every suck of his lips, or every time his tongue slid across his salty skin. It was really something else, the sensations Kuroo could make him feel, and how incredible all of this was.

It was actually Kuroo that had pulled away, sitting up and looking down at just how far he was wrecking Tsukishima. He was definitely doing a good job so far, making a mess out of the boy. "Should we go to the bedroom?" Kuroo asked in a heavy, lust-filled voice, sneaking his fingers inside of Tsukishima's shorts. It was only the edge of the shorts, not enough to go anywhere, but it was enough to tease Tsukishima further and wish for Kuroo to pull his damned shorts off.

There was no way that Tsukishima could say anything right now, so he nodded eagerly, pushing himself up. The two boys nearly banged their heads together, but they stopped just in time, and Kuroo very greedily and very hungrily ravished Tsukki's lips again, teeth clashing and tongues fighting against one another. The kiss lasted for maybe another few moments before Kuroo moved to stand, trying to keep his lips attached to Tsukki's.

It worked for a while, but Tsukki had to pull away to see where they were going, as he had no idea how to get to the bedroom from where they were. This was the first time Tsukishima had been in Kuroo's apartment, so he wanted to be careful that he didn't run into anything. He was sure that Kuroo wouldn't let that happen, but he still had to be cautious.

There was no telling why Tsukishima thought this was a good idea, but he was too far in now to think of going back. His brain wasn't functioning at full capacity right now. All he wanted to do was get Yamaguchi out of his mind, and doing this with Kuroo was slowly working. Sure, thinking that he wanted to get his mind off of someone was still thinking about them. But even if he was still thinking about Yamaguchi, this was his very poor plan of getting revenge against Yamaguchi, even though he doubted Yamaguchi would care, and he wasn't likely to tell Yamaguchi about his sex life either way. That was, unless, Yamaguchi was somehow involved in his sex life. 

Opening a door, Kuroo pulled Tsukishima into the room once he flipped on a light switch. The room was also very orderly, but Tsukki didn't have much time to think about that. The only think that wasn't orderly was Kuroo's bed, which just wasn't made. But Tsukki didn't make his bed everyday as it was, so why would he expect Kuroo to make his bed? The sheets on the bed were dark gray, and they seemed very inviting to fall into at night.

That was what the two boys did. Kuroo pulled Tsukki onto the bed and they shifted to how they were on the couch, but now they had more room to move about. Kuroo went back to kissing Tsukishima again, but he was more brave with his motions and they disconnected their lips, fumbling through pulling both of their shirts off and tossing them somewhere in the room to be forgotten about. They went back to the kissing, and Kuroo's hands went back to touching Tsukki's stomach. Tsukki keened into the touch, his back arching up into the fingers that were tracing his skin.

When Kuroo's hands found Tsukki's shorts again, Kuroo went back to kissing his lips and distracting Tsukki just a bit. The kisses started to move downward though, and Kuroo's hand had started to tug Tsukki's shorts off. It took two hands to pull them down far enough to reveal Tsukki's boxer briefs beneath his shorts, but Kuroo was too focused on kissing down Tsukki's pale skin, pressing and licking at his collarbones. The kissing continued down the middle of Tsukki's chest, and it ventured over to Tsukki's right nipple, where Kuroo latched onto and his eyes looked up at Tsukki.

He hadn't done anything just yet. He hadn't started the attack on his nipple, but Kuroo's eyes told Tsukki that Kuroo was planning on being ruthless.

Ruthless he was. Kuroo's lips and mouth started a suction motion, and Tsukki let out a louder, stronger moan. His eyes rolled into the back of his head as he arched into the touch. The moaning continued when Kuroo started to palm at the member in his boxers, and he was shivering at all of the pleasure he was being given right now. It was too much, way too much. But it was just enough to get his mind elsewhere. Kuroo pulled off Tsukki's nipple and Tsukki finally started to breathe, looking down to Kuroo with dark, hooded eyes.

The same thing happened when Kuroo started his attack on his left nipple. His dick jumped as Kuroo continued his palming through Tsukki's briefs. It was far too arousing for this to be happening right now. Tsukki could feel Kuroo's erection against his thigh, and he was trying to ground down against Tsukki right then, but very gently, to the point that Tsukki hardly noticed.

Once Kuroo pulled off, he continued his kissing down Tsukki's chest, onto his stomach and stopped at one of his hip bones. Kuroo then sat up, reaching for the shorts that were only half off of Tsukki, and pushing Tsukki's legs up to get the shorts off. Tsukki was flexible enough to do so, which was one of the perks of being a dancer he supposed. Kuroo pulled the shorts off, and he gave Tsukki a very dangerous look as he hooked his fingers into Tsukki's boxer briefs. Kuroo's weren't off yet, but there was no way they were going to do this if Kuroo didn't take his off as well.

In a very swift motion, Kuroo pulled Tsukki's boxer briefs off and his eyes slowly started to investigate what he revealed. Tsukki's hard on had been standing straight up, hitting his lower stomach region. The flush was very obvious on his cheeks and he closed his eyes. "Ooh, you're... big. I'd love to feel that inside me," Kuroo said in a very cheeky, teasing way. He slid off the bed and discarded of his own shorts and boxers, climbing back between Tsukishima's legs. "But I think you might need something to fill you up a little more, huh?" Kuroo said, the sass and teasing very obvious in his voice. Tsukishima wasn't necessarily big. He didn't have a lot of girth to him, but he was long, that was for sure.

Laying on his stomach, Kuroo pushed himself up on his arms a bit, and he leaned his head down, bringing his head closer to Tsukishima's erection, which was twitching in anticipation and was already just barely starting to ooze a little precum. That was how much he had wanted this, how much he needed a distraction and something to get his mind off of his troubles.

Only barely did Tsukishima feel Kuroo's breath against his erection, and Kuroo stuck his tongue out, letting it lap at the skin around Tsukki's erection. To say this was sexual frustration was an understatement, and Tsukki groaned in protest. But that was when Kuroo adjusted Tsukki's legs, spreading them and reaching a hand between Tsukishima's ass cheeks, opening it a bit more. He hummed and he glanced up to Tsukki as he let his teeth dance around Tsukishima's ass cheek. He bit down gently, getting Tsukki to let out a yelp and a whine. "K-Kuroo! Do _something_ , please..." Tsukishima said in such a desperate, whining voice. He really was desperate for something to happen, and he caught a glimpse of Kuroo's hard dick, standing at full attention before he sunk between Tsukishima's legs again. That was what Tsukki was hoping would happen.

Finally, Kuroo's tongue started to move its way to Tsukki's crack, licking all around the place that was clenching and weeping to be touched. Kuroo’s mouth pulled back and he let out a huff of air that hit Tsukki’s entrance, causing him to shiver a little. "Should we talk about why you're so s-"

"Kuroo, I swear to god..." Tsukishima rasped out, his head shooting up to look at Kuroo, who was snickering now that he had gotten Tsukishima this riled up. Letting out a defeated sigh, Kuroo started to lick near Tsukki's hole again, the hole that was begging to be prodded and it was squeezing already at the touches that Kuroo was giving him.

It seemed like a lifetime had passed before finally, _finally_ , Kuroo's tongue had licked over the ring of muscle. He did that a few times, circling the hole, before his tongue started to very gently prod at the hole, Tsukki let out a whine and a groan when Kuroo's tongue was playing with him, not doing exactly what he was looking for. It was teasing, and being far too gentle for what Tsukishima needed. Right when Tsukki was about to touch himself, Kuroo's tongue dove in deep and started to massage the tight muscles inside of him. "Fuck!" Tsukki cursed out and he threw his head against the sheets. He wasn't quite far enough up to be lying on the pillows on Kuroo's bed. His hands were trying to find stability in the sheets, tangling them up in his fingers.

Kuroo played with Tsukishima for about a minute before he pulled back and he grinned to see Tsukishima's wrecked expression. He was panting, and there was a small sweat forming on his brow and along his neck and shoulders. "Should I just keep doing this?" Kuroo asked with a wink, but Tsukki shook his head, his hands loosening from the grip he had against the sheets. "Oh, you want me to stop?"

This was becoming insufferable, and Tsukishima was going to lose his mind. He wanted to smack Kuroo right then for being such a tease and working Tsukki up to beyond his limits. "No, Kuroo, I want you to... I want you to fuck me," he said with a desperate whine, which was a little more high-pitched due to the circumstances.

Letting out a chuckle, Kuroo slid off the bed again and went to the nightstand, reaching into the drawer and pulling out a sleek, black bag that had a green and orange stripe across the middle. The writing on the bag was a label, and it was labeled guchi. Fucking _guchi_. Not Gucci, the brand name, but it was guchi that was written on the bag in metallic lettering.

As Tsukishima eyed the bag, Kuroo looked over to Tsukki with a sigh. "Yeah, I didn't realize it was a knock off until after I bought it. But it's all good, I just keep the lewd items in it," Kuroo said with a wink. That was when Kuroo pulled out a condom, and he had a sleek red bottle in his hand. "Are you sure you don't want me to prep you more?" Kuroo asked. "I can let my tongue do some more playing around in there. I can do more than just use my tongue there, too," Kuroo said as he wiggled his fingers.

That didn't even justify a verbal response. Tsukki rolled his eyes and groaned as he shook his head. Kuroo let out another laugh as he knelt down on the bed and set the bottle of lube aside, tearing open the condom wrapper and pushing the condom down around his member, one that Tsukki was craving. Kuroo wasn't small, either. He had to be only a little shorter than Tsukishima, if at all. That was when Kuroo picked up the bottle of lube and he let the lube drip down to his dick before he started to slide his hand along it. The delicious sounds Kuroo had been making from both his hand sliding over his dick and the moans falling from his lips caused Tsukishima's dick to twitch against his stomach, and Tsukishima had wanted to pleasure the boy even further.

After Kuroo had lathered himself up, though, Tsukishima felt Kuroo's hands go back to Tsukishima's ass and he felt Kuroo's fingers start to prod at the hole that his tongue had already played with. Kuroo's fingers hadn't been as cruel as his tongue had been, and they went straight in. The lube was cold and the fingers were longer than Kuroo's tongue could reach. They were grazing very dangerously close to Tsukishima's prostate. Tsukishima was moaning nonstop as Kuroo prodded with two fingers, and he didn't realize he had slipped a third one in until he could feel Kuroo wiggling all three inside of him. "Okay, I just don't want to hurt you. You ready?" Kuroo asked.

That was when Kuroo had pulled his fingers out, and it left Tsukki aching for something to be back inside of him. It left him feeling empty. "Y-yeah, I'm ready..." Tsukki said in a squeak of a sound, his voice more wrecked than he wanted it to be.

When Tsukishima felt something a bit larger and a bit more solid against his hole, he knew that Kuroo was waiting to enter. Tsukishima willed himself to relax, and he opened his eyes to look at Kuroo, who was holding onto his dick, lining himself up with Tsukki's entrance. The anticipation was killing Tsukki, and his hands went back to holding onto the gray sheets. Tsukki was surprised that he wasn't tearing holes in them yet. That was how tightly he was holding on.

Right as Tsukishima took in a breath, he had to gasp, because that was when Kuroo pushed in. He pushed in slowly, and the drag of his cock inside of Tsukishima was very delicious to feel. This was what Tsukishima had needed. The sensation of being full and feeling of being satisfied by someone was absolutely what he needed. It wasn't like Yama-

Tsukki had to black out his thoughts. For one, he wasn't supposed to be thinking about Yamaguchi right then. Two, Kuroo started to pull back, not going all the way in just yet. His thrusts were shallow and small, but they were still there, and Tsukki had let out a moan of satisfaction, just to show how much he was appreciating this sensation right now.

There were delicious sounds falling from Kuroo's lips as well, and he continued to move, but he leaned over Tsukishima as he kept up his shallow thrusts. After leaning down to Tsukki, he kissed him, and Tsukishima attacked Kuroo's lips back. There was still that sweet, candied yams taste that Kuroo had going. Tsukishima's mind was being so rude to him right now, and it wasn't giving him a moment to rest. His mind was filled with the idea of Kuroo tasting like yams his knock off Gucci bag, which said Guchi instead, and the fact that he was trying not to think about Yamaguchi, which was inevitably making him think about his dance partner.

As Kuroo had pushed in further and a bit harder, Tsukki had to pull away from the kiss and he had to let out a moan. That thrust had been enough to hit Tsukki's prostate, and it sent a powerful wave of pleasure through him. Tsukishima had to grip onto Kuroo's shoulders as Kuroo's thrusts continued to hit his prostate. "F-fuck! Kuroo!" This was beginning to be too much, and things were building inside of him.

Letting out another moan of his own, Tsukishima listened to how much pleasure Kuroo was in with his moans. Maybe the man only needed to please Tsukki to be pleasured himself. Tsukki knew that some people were like that, but it was rather attractive to see how turned on the man was as he fucked into his ass. It was a gorgeous sight.

Panting and moving his hips into Kuroo's thrusts, Tsukishima nearly squeaked when Kuroo's large hand wrapped around Tsukishima's very neglected, very pink cock, which was begging for release. "K-Kuroo! If you... if you do that, I'm gonna-" letting out a moan of surprise and feeling everything topple over the edge, Tsukishima's orgasm hit him like a train and it was a big, powerful orgasm, as Kuroo continued to ram himself into Tsukishima's prostate.

It shot from Tsukishima very quickly, landing against his skin and sending waves of pleasure all throughout his body. The orgasm was a good one, and it lasted longer because of the way Kuroo was still thrusting his hips.

The cum had been clumped on his chest and it had been a very large load. Tsukishima was starting to feel waves of being over-pleasured with Kuroo still fucking into him, but it didn't last long. After a few more thrusts, Kuroo pushed in hard and far, letting out a moan of his own and Tsukishima smiled very sleepily at the look of pleasure claiming Kuroo's face. Seeing the man orgasm was a treat.

Slowly, but surely, Kuroo pulled out of Tsukishima. It was right then that Tsukki was grateful that Kuroo had put on a condom. Sure, he would still have to wash himself up from the lube and such, but it wouldn't be too bad without having to clean up Kuroo's sticky mess inside of him. The man had rolled onto his side next to Tsukki, and he was trying to collect his breathing. "Well shit, that was fun..." Kuroo said. He attempted to let out a dry laugh, but it just wasn't happening. Apparently, Kuroo was just far too exhausted to think at that moment.

Tsukishima, on the other hand, couldn't stop his brain in his head from attacking him with thoughts about Yamaguchi. He was yelling out at himself and he was trying to drown out his thoughts. "Yeah, that was good. Can I... use your bathroom to clean up?" Tsukki asked, and Kuroo nodded sleepily.

As Tsukki sat up, he stretched a bit and Kuroo smiled as he looked at Tsukki's naked form. "It's the last door on the left down the hall here."

As well as cleaning himself up, Tsukishima wanted to get dressed again, and a sensation of nausea was taking over his mind at the moment. He just _slept with Kuroo to get back at Yamaguchi_. That was probably the dumbest thing he could have done. What was he thinking? He wasn't even going to tell Yamaguchi about this, and he was going to tell Kuroo that if he told anyone about this, he would cut off his dick and feed it to him.

Once he found the bathroom, he closed the door and he locked it, just a habit he had. It was good that he had locked it, too, because the boy had leaned over the toilet in habit and he released the food that Suga had forced on him at lunch. Tsukki didn’t even need to use his fingers this time to get it to start. He was only vomiting because he was just so mad about the situation he was in. He was angry that he thought that sleeping with Kuroo was actually going to fix anything at all. Finishing up his vomiting, Tsukishima stood up and hoped to god that Kuroo was too tired to hear anything at all right now. He didn't need Kuroo to ask about his vomiting. He didn't need to cause any more drama than what he was already in.

Standing up and reaching for toilet paper, Tsukishima had wiped his mouth and then reached for more toilet paper to clean his ass up as well, trying to get the sticky lube sensation off of him. He also wiped his sticky release off of his stomach and chest, knowing he would have to have a shower when he went back to see Oikawa and Suga. That was when he flushed the toilet and he got himself dressed again. As Tsukishima went back to the bedroom, he could see Kuroo already asleep on the bed, and Tsukishima didn't want to disturb him. All he did was reach in and flip off the light switch.

As he went back out to the living room, he groaned to think that the reason he came over to Kuroo's apartment in the first place was to get his psych assignment done, and they hadn't done that at all. Sure, they had their fun, but that wasn't the reason he had come over to Kuroo's apartment. It wasn't necessarily unwelcomed though, and Tsukki did have a bit more clarity in his mind. Hopefully that fun hour was enough to take his mind off of things.

After leaving the apartment and making sure to take everything with him, he had a short walk to get back to Suga's and Oikawa's apartment. He knew they wouldn't be asleep, but hopefully they would know that Tsukki wanted to be left alone. Maybe Suga had talked sense into Oikawa and neither of them would say anything when Tsukki came in.

That was a hopeless thought, as Oikawa and Suga were sitting on the couch when Tsukki walked in. Oikawa jumped up and instantly started in on Tsukki, which wasn't exactly welcomed. "Hey, you little brat! You can't just walk out when I'm talking to you!" Oikawa said in a fit, throwing his hands in the air. Oikawa was really beginning to behave like a parent, and Tsukishima already had two of those.

"Babe, he's an adult. Of course he can. Remember what we talked about?" Suga asked as he reached for Oikawa's side, getting Oikawa to relax and reach for Suga's hand.

There were things that only Suga could do, and everyone and anyone was grateful that Suga was able to do these things when it came to Oikawa. One of the things he was able to do was to get Oikawa to calm down when he was on a rampage. Tsukki certainly appreciated it tonight. "Yeah, yeah... I'm sorry, Tsukki-Chan. Did you at least get your homework assignment done?"

Cringing a bit, Tsukki shook his head. "I tried, but I ended up... getting distracted," Tsukki said as he shifted uncomfortably on his legs. The pair of boys looked at him, and that was when Oikawa tilted his head a bit, examining the look on Kei's face. It was hard to keep a straight face when one, he was hiding the truth, and two, when the distraction was Kuroo fucking him.

Humming a bit, Suga smiled a little. "So, this distraction. I'm guessing it involved some physical work, huh?" Suga tried very hard, but he couldn't conceal the smirk he had, and Tsukki knew he had figured out what he had been doing. Hopefully though, he wouldn't figure out who it was that he slept with. It's not like it really mattered that it was Kuroo, but if he remembered correctly, Oikawa and Suga didn't exactly care for Kuroo.

Shrugging, Tsukki started to walk towards the room that Oikawa and Suga were letting him borrow. "Who was it?" Oikawa asked after a few moments, after Tsukki had gone into his room. When Tsukki didn't answer and started to pull out his assignment, it seemed that Oikawa followed after him to get his answer. "You know I'm not going to leave you alone until you answer, right?" Oikawa asked. Tsukishima really should have known, and he might have been better off just answering the question.

Sighing, Tsukishima looked up from his assignment. "I'm guessing you won't believe me if I said it was Yamaguchi," Tsukishima said, and his mind was starting to go to bad places. He kind of wished it was with Yamaguchi, even though he was still mad at the boy. Oikawa shook his head, and Tsukki looked down at his assignment, averting his eyes. "It was... uh... It was Kuroo Tetsurou..." he said, trying not to look at Oikawa after he had said that.

Hearing Suga make a distressed sound from the living room and realizing Oikawa hadn't said anything yet, Tsukki looked up to see the blank, paled expression on Oikawa's face. "You... I'm sorry, you slept with the boy I _hate the most_? You can go back home for the night!" Oikawa said and Tsukki cringed at the fit Oikawa was about to throw.

That was when Suga snuck in and he held onto Oikawa, trying his best to control Oikawa's emotions. "Tsukki, I know you've had a rough go of it all lately, but sleeping with Kuroo is dangerous. He breaks the people he sleeps with, and-"

"And he's an asshole that I hate!" Oikawa interjected, throwing his hands into the air again.

Letting out another sigh, Suga shook his head and he started to rub at Oikawa's shoulders. "Babe, I know you hate him. I don't like him either, but that's not enough of a reason for Tsukki not to sleep with him..."

Groaning and walking his way out to the living room, Suga sighed and followed after him. Tsukki stood up quickly and shut his door so he could hopefully get his assignment done in some peace and quiet. There was yelling happening in the living room though, so Tsukki wasn't exactly hopeful that he would get the peace and quiet that he wanted. "It should be enough of a reason! Tsukishima slept with my enemy!"

"He is not your enemy."

"Well it feels like he's trying his best to be my enemy!"

"A real reason that Tsukki shouldn't sleep with him is because he broke some hearts of your friends. Another reason would be because he’s lied to our faces. Those are reasons to hate him and why Tsukki-kun shouldn’t sleep with him." Tsukishima listened to their conversation for that little while longer, but he put in his ear buds and decided to look at his school assignment that he desperately needed to finish.

It was useless to think that he could get this done on his own. So he groaned for a bit before he pulled out his cell phone.

**Me (10:13 PM):**

_We probably should talk... We can practice our dance again this week. I have a question though. Did you get your psych assignment done?_

**Yamaguchi (10:14 PM):**

_Are you struggling with it too? Wanna hop on Skype so we can get it done together?_

It wasn't ideal after what Tsukishima had done that night, and Tsukki wasn't sure he'd be able to handle a video call with Yamaguchi, but there really was no other way he was going to get this done.

**Me (10:14 PM):**

_Sure. I'm ready when you are._


	9. Chapter 9

It was a very long week for the university, and Tsukishima was dreading the week that was to follow. But he had made it through the long week with very few scratches and he had managed to survive the quizzes and project he had been given. It was rough, but most universities were rough, regardless of the major. Though usually, universities weren't physically exhausting. They were just mentally taxing. This university, on the other hand, was both mentally taxing and physically exhausting.

As he threw himself down on his bed, back at his family home, Tsukishima groaned at the thought of everything he still had left to do. Luckily though, most of it wasn't due until the following Friday, so he still had a ton of time. He just wasn't so sure he really wanted to go through and struggle through all of the work. Regardless though, he knew that he had no choice. It was just something he would have to suck up and push himself through.

Right now, though, he knew that he really just wanted to relax and get his mind off of the week he had ahead of him. He could just watch more dance videos, or he could go through the notes his ballet professor gave to him about one of the freestyle dances he had done in class. Whatever he decided to do, it would have to be something he did before he had to go get ready for work. But he really just wasn't feeling any of the stuff he really should be doing right now. What he really needed was Oikawa or Suga to get his mind off of everything with their antics and fun nights. But unfortunately, the two boys were away on a trip to go watch a professional theater company, and they were going to be there until the following morning.

There seemed to be some sort of power looking out for him, though, because right when Tsukishima was going to go out for a jog, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Fishing it out, he hummed at the name that flashed across the screen. It was a name that he wasn't entirely sure how he felt about.

**Yamaguchi (4:02 PM)**  
_Hey, are you free right now?_

**Me (4:02 PM)**  
_Right now, yeah. I have to work tonight, but that doesn't start until later._

It took a moment for Tsukishima to get an answer back, so he thought that maybe he would be better to just focus his mind on getting a workout in. Really, he didn't know why he was trying to get himself to work out more, but he was really just set on the idea that he needed to stay in shape. Dancing really couldn't put him into better shape than he already was, and working out too much was very dangerous to someone with his eating disorders, but Tsukki really needed to stay in as good of shape as he possibly could.

Seeing his phone light up again, Tsukki rose his eyebrow at the next question.

**Yamaguchi (4:06 PM)**  
_My family and I have a street dance competition in two hours and I was wondering if you wanted to come watch? It will probably take two hours for the competition though, so I understand if you don't want to because you have to work._

What in the world was Yamaguchi doing, inviting him to a street dance? He knew how Tsukki felt about any kind of hip hop styles of dance, so was it really a wise idea to invite Tsukki to something that he was likely to just criticize the entire time? But just as Tsukishima was about to make up an excuse, an idea came to Tsukishima's brain. Going out would definitely be a distraction, and getting to see more of Yamaguchi and learn more about his family would be good for their slowly developing friendship. So what would the harm be to go see them dance?

Sighing, Tsukki started to compose a message to Yamaguchi once again.

**Me (4:08 PM)**  
_Just send me the address. I'll come._

This wasn't something expected, nor was Tsukki expecting to enjoy the performances, but Tsukki figured it was something that could give him a laugh before he went to work. It would loosen him up, that was for sure, and it would be a good distraction.

The next hour and a half had passed by, and Tsukishima took one more glance at his phone to commit the address to memory, before he decided to head out into the world and distract himself.

As he approached the building, Tsukishima made a bit of a face before he went to pull out his phone to text Yamaguchi once again. The building looked a little dark and dingy, so was it really a place they were having their dance battle? And wasn't it supposed to be a street competition? Why in the world had Tsukishima agreed to come to this anyway? He had no idea what he was doing here.

Right before he sent the message, he saw a familiar face appear in front of him, and the boy smiled and waved. There were other people with him, but Yamaguchi came over to Tsukki in no time. "Hey, you made it! I'm glad you're here!" Yamaguchi said with a bright smile. Slowly, a couple of the people he had been with made their way over to stand with the pair. "Oh, guys! This is Tsukki! He's my dance partner at uni," Yamaguchi said as he turned to them.

Eyes were poking and prodding at Tsukishima, and judgments were beginning to form. But Tsukishima smiled a bit awkwardly at the group as everyone else had come over. One of the guys had thrown his arm around Yamaguchi's shoulders and he started to glare. "You're the one who gave this shit the cold shoulder for being irresponsible, huh?" the boy had asked.

Cringing a bit, Tsukishima took a small step backwards and Yamaguchi scoffed and pushed at the arm. "Knock it off, Tanaka. I've apologized like a million times. You don't have to keep bringing this stuff up," he said said with a bit of a frown.

The group laughed and one of the other guys stepped forward and held out his hand. "It's nice to meet you, Tsukishima. I'm Daichi... Or, uh, I mean, if you'd prefer I guess you can use my last name. It's Sawamura, but everyone calls me Daichi," he said with a shrug as he smiled. "That there is Tanaka, he's a little protective of our young one here," Daichi said as he poked at Yamaguchi's shoulder.

When Tsukishima took Daichi's hand, he could tell just how strong the hands really were. It was nice, really. "I'm Ennoshita. Everyone calls me Enno, but Ennoshita works," one of the other boys had spoke up. Tsukishima shook the next man's hand as well, and his smile continued to grow just a bit.

"Noya here. I'm protective of Yams too, but you really have to mess up for me to come after you," the man said as he reached to shake Tsukishima's hand as well. "You're a tall one, aren't you?" he said as he eyed Tsukishima. Noya was on the shorter side of things, but his hairstyle seemed to give him just a little more height. It seemed that everyone that was going to speak had spoken, but eventually Noya had convinced another man to come forward and he had let out a sigh.

As he came forward, he also offered his hand out to Tsukishima, but he was a bit more shy than the others. "I'm Asahi. I don't dance, I'm just here to support too. But I guess... since the whole family is being introduced, I'm part of that too," Asahi had said with a wince of a smile, but it was a smile nonetheless.

Everyone had spoken up in the group, and Tsukishima was a little surprised that there weren't more of them, if he was being perfectly honest. But a dance team was a team, no matter the size, as long as it was more than two people. "So the other teams needs to show up still. Are you sure you're okay to stay and you won't be late to work? I don't want to be the cause of you missing work again..." Yamaguchi said in a glum voice, and Tanaka nodded and crossed his arms firmly.

As Tanaka cleared his throat, he narrowed his eyes to Yamaguchi. "We didn't teach him to be like this, I can swear to you. We would never teach him to or encourage him to drug someone."

Sighing, Daichi looked at Tsukishima once more. "Are you sure you won't take our money to make up for that? We were embarrassed when Yamaguchi told us what he had done, and we were sad to know what you missed out on a night at work" Daichi said sadly.

Shaking his head, Tsukishima put his hand up. "No, really. Sure, I missed work, but I really didn't miss out on too much that night. I was overdoing it too, so even though I missed work, I had worked other shifts that week that definitely made up for missing work. Oh, and... Uh, so just because I want this awkwardness to get out of the way, you all do know where I work, right? Saeko is my manager..." Tsukishima said as he dropped his gaze for a bit.

A very bright and boisterous laugh had left Tanaka's lips as he nodded his head. "Yeah, she's my sister. Didn't Yams tell you that?" Tanaka had said with a bit of a grin, but that didn't stop him from keeping up his laughter and snickering.

That was actually a bit of a surprise to Tsukishima, because he couldn't recall Yamaguchi ever really making that connection. "I think he just said that... she was a friend of his or something. I really don't know," Tsukishima said. He was finally starting to make the connection and he realized that while she had been a friend to Yamaguchi and the rest of the family, she was really only family to one of the boys. It was starting to make sense.

Humming a bit and looking at Yamaguchi, he had a bit of a sheepish grin on his face. "We hadn't shared our family lives by that point, I don't think. Sorry I didn't tell you," Yamaguchi said as he rubbed at the back of his head.

It was right then that Asahi had started to speak up, and he motioned towards the building. "I think the other teams are here. There's more noise going on in the building..." he said softly. The rest of the dance team had looked towards the building, and Daichi had nodded his head towards the building.

"This is what we've been practicing for. Tsukki, you can come in and sit in one of the chairs against the wall. We're glad you're here to support, though. I know Yamaguchi has wanted you to see this for some time now," Daichi said. The group had headed in towards the building, with Tsukishima and Yamaguchi walking towards the back of the group.

Once the group had all made it inside, Tsukishima could see that the inside wasn't quite as dingy as the outside appearance. It was a wide, open space, definitely large enough for a dance group to perform a routine. But that was when Tsukishima started to think a bit. What was Tsukki supposed to say at a time like this? He didn't want to be rude or anything, but he knew he had to say something. "Uh... dance your heart out?" Tsukishima said awkwardly.

The air between the two of them was a bit tense, but Yamaguchi laughed and shrugged it off, thankfully enough. "Yeah, sure. We need luck, because this contest is supposed to win us the rest of our rent money. But thanks for being here, I really appreciate it. It will give me more confidence."

Why did Yamaguchi have to say things like that? It caused Tsukishima's heart to do funny little flips and it caused his mind to go into overdrive. Why was he even experiencing these feelings with Yamaguchi anyway? He really wasn't meant to be feeling these things towards Yamaguchi, who had really messed things up and had made it a mess for him. "You guys can do it. From what you've told me, you're a good dance team," Tsukki said when Yamaguchi looked over to the rest of the team.

"Gotta go. Thanks again!" That was when Yamaguchi had started to jog towards the rest of the group and he started to talk with them. If only Tsukishima had a family like this, he could understand just a little better. He did have Oikawa and Suga, and he really did consider those two to be family. But it wasn't quite the same, and it caused Tsukishima to hum.

Taking a seat in one of the chairs that Daichi had mentioned to him, Tsukishima looked around the rest of the dimly lit room. There were other people there to watch, and eventually, Asahi came to join him, but there really weren't a ton of people there to witness this. "They are trying to decide on how to do it. They are debating between a few different options, but I think the other team really wants to do the call out style, where it's just a constant battle, rather one where each team dances to their own routines," Asahi explained. Sure, Tsukishima knew dance and all about the art form, but he really didn't know about the specifics of competitions like this one.

The three judges, who Asahi had just pointed out to Tsukki, had moved to stand in the middle of the room, and the three dance teams had moved to the sides of the room. Tsukishima's eyes were on Yamaguchi, and Tsukki really wanted to see just how well Yamaguchi could do his so-called hip hop dancing. Tsukki was ready for a laugh, but he wasn't giving this a fair chance in the slightest.

One of the judges had used their fingers to make a loud, high pitched whistling noise, and the room had quieted down. "Okay, so we are going to do things a little differently this time. We are going to do both a freestyle contest and a choreography contest. We will have the two teams who were challenged decide which they'd rather do first, then we'll get started."

None of this was making sense to Tsukki, and he watched as two of the teams started to talk amongst themselves, and Daichi spoke up for his team. "We'd rather do the choreographed piece first, and then freestyle."

"Yeah, us too," someone from the second team had said. The other dance team shrugged and seemed to agree with the decision. They would have to regardless at this point.

Tsukishima looked towards Yamaguchi, and the boy looked back to Tsukki with a smile. There wasn't an ounce of fear or anxiety on his face, so maybe Yamaguchi was really just confident for this. It was their own choreographed piece, so maybe they were confident for this.

The second team went first, and Tsukishima had to roll his eyes at all of the immature body rolling there was, and their bodies weren't hitting their marks. It really wasn't a very good example of a hip hop dance, but Tsukishima didn't think that he would ever see a good example of a hip hop dance. "That wasn't really too cohesive," Asahi said with a frown. "Our boys will do much better. Just you wait," he said softly. Tsukki looked towards him, and his eyes seemed to be filled with the same confidence that he saw on Yamaguchi's face.

Once again, the other team had gone, which had left Yamaguchi's team waiting to compete. The second team was quite a bit better. Their moves seemed to be a bit more perfected and their moves were a little more in sync with one another. It still wasn't great though, even though Tsukishima didn't know what great hip hop really was. "That one was a little better. I think Daichi and Ennoshita are feeling that much right now," Asahi said as he motioned over to the two boys, who were chatting to one another.

Finally, it was time for Yamaguchi's team to start. When Daichi had given the song title to one of the judges, Tsukishima watched as the team started to set up. Yamaguchi stood in the line that the team had formed, and the song started.

The music filled Tsukishima's ears, and while the sound of the group seemed familiar, Tsukishima couldn't place it because he really didn't listen to a lot of pop music. He had started listening to more once he had met Yamaguchi, that was for certain, but he usually stayed to the more mellow songs, or he would listen to classical music for his ballet pieces.

Regardless, the music seemed to be quite the fit for the dance that was being performed at the moment. It was a lot of fast movement, and each and every single one of the members had been moving at the same time, their movements being the same motion, aside from the ones that were meant to be different motions. No one over exaggerated their movements, no one had tried to be a star, and everything seemed to be perfectly placed.

There was a moment where the movements slowed and things seemed to be more fluid, and Tsukishima's eyes widened at the amount of talent each boy seemed to have. No one was breathing too hard, no one was losing focus, and each movement was articulated as the dance went on.

At the end of the number, the final pose was struck, and the whole building seemed to go crazy at the applause to praise the number. Yamaguchi let a grin break out on his cheeks, and Tsukishima had actually started to applaud, because it was definitely something else to witness right then. The whole team started to straighten up, and everyone started to chat.

Once the judges had finished their discussion, they started to discuss who had taken which place in the competition. It wasn't a surprise to anyone that the last team had gotten the highest place, or rather, no one was really too surprised that they had won.

"Wow, they are really good," Tsukishima murmured to Asahi, who was staring ahead at Noya at the time. He only nodded with a smile and Tsukishima wasn't going to question any of this. He didn't understand what was going on, or how any of this really worked, but he was glad that it was off to a good start it seemed.

After that, there was a bit of a break, and Yamaguchi came over to speak to Tsukki, the grin still on his face. "What'd you think? I know, you don't think hip hop is a dance type or should be considered as a dance form, but... still, did you enjoy it at all?"

The look on Tsukishima's face had twisted into something a bit sour, and he cleared his throat. "I... You know, I had agreed to come because I wanted to criticize it the whole time. I wanted to call you out for having no technique or discipline with your dancing. But... honestly? That was... impressive," Tsukishima said with a sheepish look on his face. It wasn't very often that he would willingly praise a hip-hop dance such as this one, but this number was really something else.

Gasping, Yamaguchi looked at Tsukishima questioningly. "Really...? You actually liked it? he asked, and it only took a nod for Yamaguchi's mouth to split into a large smile. Yamaguchi had reached down and he hugged Tsukishima, who sat there and didn't react to the hug in a physical manner. His mind started to scream out and yell for him to return the hug back, but Tsukishima just wasn't feeling that at the moment. "We still have the other part, but we've practiced our freestyle choreography a lot. We know what to do," the boy had said with a hum, but when he pulled away, Tsukishima could see a bit of anxiety on Yamaguchi's face. Maybe he wasn't as sure of this part. That was the only thing that Tsukishima could think of that was causing Yamaguchi to be anxious. 

When the freestyle competition was about to start, Yamaguchi went back and he bounced on his toes a bit. That was when a song was cued up, and finally, the battle had started. Yamaguchi's team started, and when they finished up their moves, they motioned at the team in third place to go. It was such a confusing thing to be watching, and the worst team had to drop out of the contest after a little while.

The two teams remaining would dance for ten to thirty seconds at a time, before motioning to the other team to go. While it was all freestyle and neither team knew the song that was going to be played, they each had dance moves that would fit with the music and it was all choreographed pieces of dance. It was interesting to say the least, and Tsukishima wondered when it would stop.

It seemed to continue for nearly an hour, until both teams were too tired to continue. It was probably only twenty minutes, but it was still a long time to constantly dance like this. As Daichi took a breath, he went to the judges and he seemed to say something in a quiet voice. "That wasn't bad, but it will be a close call. That other team was really good. It's not a surprise that the one team stopped though, since I don't know that they knew what they were getting into," Asahi said. Tsukishima looked towards the judges and the three of them were motioning to each remaining team. It was at times like this that Tsukishima wished that he could read minds, but at other times, he would remind himself that he never actually cared enough.

As the judges came to the center of the dance floor, one of them spoke up. "Okay, we have come to a decision," he said, and everyone quieted down. "So, we think you each did a very good job, and we could see where each of your strengths seemed to lie. But there can only be one winner for this," she said.

Finally, he announced the team, and Tsukishima stood up and clapped, because it was Yamaguchi's team that had won, and he was really just impressed that Yamaguchi had won. He wasn't too surprised with the talent that the other team had shown, but he was just impressed that Yamaguchi's team was that talented.

It was definitely giving Tsukishima a new respect for hip hop all together. He was wondering just how long this would last, or if he would keep this appreciation for a while. Maybe Yamaguchi was really just changing his mind on this whole thing all together. Maybe he was changing Tsukishima for the better.

As Daichi and Ennoshita had gone to discuss things with the other dance teams, Yamaguchi came back over with a grin on his face. "Wow, we really did that. We really... we won," he said. Tsukishima wondered how many other teams were really that talented though. It seemed like Yamaguchi was really just impressed by his team, but it didn't seem like he was too used to winning. Either way, it was a nice smile to see on Yamaguchi's face.

Taking a breath, Tsukishima hated to admit it, but he really was impressed. "You know, I really am impressed. You've given me a new respect for hip hop dancing," Tsukishima said in a soft voice, nodding towards Noya and Tanaka who had come over to talk with Asahi.

Clearing his throat, Tanaka hummed a bit. "You think it was okay? I know you're a dance major like Yama over there," Tanaka had said and he smiled.

Nodding in agreement to Tanaka, Tsukki turned his attention back to Yamaguchi. It was right then that he looked at his phone to see if he had any text messages, but there was nothing. That was when he noticed the time, though, and he winced a little. "So... I have to go get ready for work. But thank you for inviting me," Tsukishima said a bit awkwardly. "It was nice to see you in your element and understand more about your movements. I definitely see why you move the way you do when we're doing our dance routine," Tsukishima said.

Yamaguchi nodded and he hummed a bit, before his eyes lit up. "Do you... think we can come watch you at work? We're going to go out and celebrate the win anyway, so maybe we can celebrate with seeing you work? Not that... you know, it will mean anything to any of us, but I think it might be nice to see where you are coming from with your dancing," Yamaguchi said with a twinkle of hope in his eyes.

Biting his lip, Tsukishima looked away from Yamaguchi and thought about his options. He could tell Yamaguchi no, but that would be a bit rude, since he had just watched their competition and had gotten a chance to see where Yamaguchi came from with his own dancing. He could let them all come watch, but it would make his relationship with Yamaguchi feel a little bit awkward. That was when Tsukishima realized that Yamaguchi had already watched him pole dance at work. None of the other boys had seen him pole dance before, other than Tanaka who probably wasn't paying attention, but that didn't mean that Tsukishima wanted Yamaguchi's entire family to see him work. It wasn't exactly something he was proud of doing.

Taking a breath, Tsukishima shrugged. "If they want to, sure. I don't really mind if they come watch me dance," Tsukishima said quietly. "I have outfits at the club already, so we can just... head there, yeah?" Tsukishima offered as he nodded towards the door.

Looking towards Daichi and Ennoshita, who had started to walk over, Yamaguchi nodded. "Hey guys, so to celebrate, like you said you wanted to, I thought that we could go see Tsukishima work. I mean, it will be fun regardless, and it's somewhere that we can celebrate. What do you say?" Yamaguchi suggested.

All of the boys shared looks of contemplation with one another, but Tanaka groaned. "That means I have to see my sister... At least she's not one of the strippers..." Tanaka said and Noya choked out a laugh and Asahi covered his face with one of his large palms. "But sure, I think that would be a good idea. We can celebrate there and get to have some fun. We never get to have fun like this," Tanaka said.

Daichi nodded and Ennoshita seemed to be eyeing Tanaka. "You never get to have fun like that, huh?" he said, and his eyes were questioning Tanaka. The boy froze up and he bowed his head, getting a smile out of Ennoshita. "I'm teasing. It's still a good idea," he said. There was something in Ennoshita's voice that screamed that he wasn't really teasing Tanaka, but Tsukishima really didn't care at the moment.

"Yeah, it is a good idea, actually. If you're spending time with our brother, then we want to see what you're all about and your life. We have to get more acquainted," Daichi had said with a smile to Tsukishima. A pink blush was slowly forming on his face, and he really wasn't too sure that Daichi knew how real this was becoming for him and how intense it was starting to become. His emotions for Yamaguchi had been up and down and just all of the extremes there could possibly be. But Daichi saying that they wanted to get to know Tsukishima a little more meant something to him. They were Yamaguchi's family, after all.

Nodding slowly, Tsukishima turned to try to hide the blush on his cheeks, or at least the one he could feel starting to form. Feeling everyone start to follow him, Tsukishima lead the way to the club, although he was sure that all of them could find the club more than likely if they wanted to. Tanaka had to know where it was, because his sister worked there. Since Yamaguchi followed Tanaka that day, he also knew where the club was.

Once they started to walk, Yamaguchi had walked next to Tsukki and they stayed pretty quiet. Tsukishima felt the anxiety start to work its way up through him, which was why he didn't even bother trying to have a conversation with Yamaguchi in that moment. That was when Yamaguchi's phone stared to buzz though, and the boy answered it. "Oh, hey Yachi! How are-... Oh, I'm with my family right now... No, we're not home. Uh... Well I mean, I always want to spend time with you and I appreciate you wanting to spend time with me, but my family and I are out right now and this is something I can't really invite you to... Huh? Oh, just another competition. Why? We're walking downtown... Are you okay?... Yeah. Okay, yeah."

This conversation seemed to be rather annoying, and Tsukishima really wished he didn't have to overhear Yamaguchi talking with his girlfriend. Even thinking of calling her that was going to make him sick. "Where are you then?... Oh! We're walking right by there. I'll stop in really quick and then I can join my family after. But we have a bit of a schedule to-... Okay, yeah. I can just stop in and then run out." Yamaguchi was subconsciously rubbing his arm against Tsukishima's, and it made Tsukki buzz a bit. He longed for more of that touch, but not while he was on the phone with Yachi.

"Okay, I... yeah, I'll see you soon. You too, bye babe," Yamaguchi said as he hung up the phone and he let out a sigh. "Sorry. She wants to go out, but I don't want to miss out on this opportunity to see you in your element. I mean, your real element is ballet, but you were really good the last time I saw you," Yamaguchi said with a grin. "You were hot, too."

Those were words that Tsukki really didn't need to hear. He didn't want to hear the boy he had a crush on call him attractive in anything he did. He didn't even know he had a real crush on the boy, but it was starting to come to his conscious brain right then. "Oh, well thanks, I guess. You don't have to come watch me if you'd rather spend time with her," Tsukki said a bit dryly.

Hearing Tsukishima's voice right then, Yamaguchi's face faltered for a moment. "No, you got to see more of my life, and well... I want to see more of yours too. We really need more of a connection as dance partners," Yamaguchi said.

That was the last thing that Tsukki had wanted. He wanted to keep his distance with Yamaguchi as much as he possibly could. But he knew that Yamaguchi was right. The more of a connection that he had with Yamaguchi, the better their dancing would be. "Alright, that's fine. I just don't want to take you away from her," Tsukishima said in another emotionless tone of voice. Tsukishima didn't think he could feel anything other than negative feelings for the girl, although he wasn't really being fair to her. She hadn't done anything other than capture Yamaguchi's heart first. But that was really just how salty and petty the taller boy was.

"Nah, you're not taking me from her. I can spend more time with her soon. She doesn't have to have me every night. You get my attention tonight," Yamaguchi said with a bit of a smile.

While that sounded sweet in retrospect, he knew that Yamaguchi was probably just trying to be nice. Tsukki wondered if he missed spending time with Yachi or was longing to spend time with her, or if he was honest about wanting to see him work. Either way, it brought an immature sensation of winning over the situation they were in. This was Tsukishima's petty side coming out to rear its ugly head.

As they continued to walk, they all stopped for moment at a little coffee house, where it seemed very high class and expensive. No one went inside other than Yamaguchi. Tsukishima watched through the window as Yamaguchi greeted Yachi and they shared an embrace and a quick kiss. Yamaguchi was obviously explaining the contest, and he pointed out the window. Yachi locked onto Tsukishima for a moment, before she turned back to Yamaguchi and smiled to him. She pointed to Tsukki, and it made Tsukki tense up a bit. Yamaguchi seemed to try to come up with a lie or something it seemed, which caused a confused look to come across her face. But she sighed and shrugged it off.

After another few moments, Yamaguchi gave her another kiss and excused himself, leaving the coffee house and coming back outside. "Okay, we can go! Just so our stories don't get mixed up later, uh... You were already out and you are headed home, that's why you're walking with us..." Yamaguchi said to Tsukki as they continued their walk to the club.

"Oh, I appreciate you coming up with a lie, since I don't need people to know what I do for a job," Tsukishima said a bit sheepishly. He really didn't care if people knew, but it wasn't exactly the best job to have while he was at university and he had a lot of people that were likely to tease him about his profession. He didn't need it to get out to the school, and he knew that once it got out to the school, it wouldn't long before the rest of the community had learned about it. He didn't need his dad finding out about it, or his mother for that matter.

Nodding, the group just continued to make their way to the strip club. It didn't seem to take much longer, and although Tsukishima had a bit of a bad feeling about that night, he wasn't sure where the sensation was coming from or if it was really just the fact that he was going to be stripping and pole dancing for people that he would wish to eventually be more involved in his life. It was a very subconscious thought, but it was still there.

Taking a breath on the outside of the building, Tsukishima licked his lips. "I have to go in and get dressed. Uh, I go in a different way. You all can sit anywhere you want, I don't care... But please, just... enjoy I guess? And be respectful to my coworkers," he said.

As the group went inside and Tsukishima went to the back of the building, he could have sworn he saw someone standing in the shadows, but he really couldn't focus on that at the moment. He had to go get dressed and ready for work. He had to go get himself dressed and prepared for knowing people in the audience for the first time since he had started working at the strip club.

Once Tsukishima got dressed, he took a seat in one of the chairs in the back room and watched as Saeko came over. "You brought my brother here?" she asked with a face that did not seem to be very amused at all. It didn't seem mad or anything of the sort, but it wasn't a happy look for his manager to be sporting. "I know that he and Ennoshita are trying to date and all that, but... I don't need to see him watching my dancers, getting all worked up over the performance..." Saeko said.

Wincing a bit, Tsukki let out a bit of a sigh. "It wasn't my idea, but.. I am sorry. I will make sure they all behave, and I already told them to respect the other dancers too," Tsukishima said. He wasn't even sure how Saeko knew that Tsukishima had brought the group with him, but maybe she was watching the outside cameras while they were outside the building.

Groaning a bit, Saeko nodded and stood up. "School still going okay?" she asked, clearly trying to change the topic.

Humming a bit, Tsukki shrugged a bit. "It's getting a little hectic, but I'm managing. If... I don't come to work on Wednesday, is that okay? I have a lot to catch up on, and I have an important test to take on Thursday," Tsukishima said. It wasn't like him to ask to take off a day, but he knew that he would need it, that was for sure.

Letting out a bit of a laugh, Saeko gave Tsukishima a bit of a look. "You never ask for time off. The rest of my strippers do, but you're the only one who never asks for a day off. Of course you can take off on Wednesday, if it's for school, of course. I don't want you to get behind and I don't want you struggling. We both know how that will turn out for all of us," she said with a wink before she stood up and she started to head back out to the floor. "I'll see you out there," Saeko said before she left the room.

Eventually, the time came for him to go out. He had gotten himself all ready, wearing nothing more than a vest, a pair of short shorts, that really left very little up to the imagination, and he had a bow around his neck. Clearing his throat, Tsukishima grabbed one of the props from backstage, and he listened as his song was cued up. All he had to do was focus on a few other people and not focus on the fact that there were people watching him that he knew.

Taking a step out onto the stage, Tsukishima started out to the center, taking seductive and slow steps to the beat of the music. The prop he had grabbed was a long, thin cane that definitely matched what he was wearing. He started to do a bit of his routine, and he slid his hand over his thigh, licking his lips a bit. He could hear a whistle, and Tsukishima was used to hearing whistles, but this time the whistle came from Noya, where Tsukki had locked onto and stared at. He could see that the boys were all relatively close to the stage, and they could definitely see what was going on close and personal. Ignoring the fact that he could see Yamaguchi staring at him, he started to do his routine on the pole, where he grabbed the pole and started to slide down it. Then he pulled himself up it, twisting himself around it.

Another few whistles and cheers happened as Tsukishima continued, wrapping his legs around the pole and he ended up being upside down. He took off his bow tie at one point and he didn't realize that he had thrown the bow to Yamaguchi accidentally. Yamaguchi had obviously caught the bow, but Tsukishima really couldn't focus on the way Yamaguchi seemed to be captivated by Tsukki's pole dancing.

As the song finished up and Tsukishima strutted his way off stage, he groaned once he was out of view and he squeezed his eyes close. There were a lot of people in the club that night, so why did they have to be so close? And how were they possibly that close to begin with? Either way, he still had another performance to put on and he was going to beg Saeko to make someone else close that night. He was always the closer, so he hoped that he could get away with not closing that night.

The second performance went a little better, and Tsukishima had loosened up. Although, he didn't see everyone out in the group anymore. He only knew that Yamaguchi was there for sure, Daichi was there, and so was Ennoshita and Tanaka. Where Asahi and Noya went to, Tsukki would never know. He put on one more dance, and he was sure that it was probably the loudest applause and cheers he had gotten. Tsukki also had to have one of the other managers gather up his tips for his last performance, because he had gotten far too much.

As Tsukki took a seat in the back, Saeko came back and she smiled to him. As he was about to speak, she cut him off with her raised hand. "I already know, you want to go spend time with them. Get out of here, I'll have Kyle close tonight. You deserve the rest, and to go have some fun," she said.

It was rather uncanny how Saeko really just seemed to know Tsukki. She always seemed to know when he didn't want to close, or when he needed time off. He never asked for it, so it was a wonder that she just seemed to know all the time.

"Thanks, Saeko. I appreciate it. And wait... You said before that Enno and your brother were dating?" he said, remembering that statement right then. He wasn't sure why he wanted to know, but Tsukki was learning more and more about Yamaguchi's family.

Humming a bit, Saeko shrugged. "Well they are trying to, but I guess it's complicated because Tanaka didn't want to be tied down. But, that's my brother for you. He doesn't know he has something good until it's already gone. Anyway, great work tonight honey. I'll see you next Friday?" she said with a smile.

Tsukishima nodded as he got changed and thanked her once again. He really did want to go out and join up with Yamaguchi again and see what was next. He was probably just going to go home, but he wanted to make sure they were pleased with coming to watch Tsukishima dance and strip.

As he walked out, again, Tsukki watched as someone had walked out the door, and he frowned, because he could have swore he recognized who it was, but he just didn't catch the face in time. He didn't care at the moment, but he was just having odd moments all day today. Once he walked over to the group, he saw that they were watching one of the other dancers, and Daichi had passed a bill up to the stage, definitely being polite. Yamaguchi looked over, and he gave a brilliant smile. "You were incredible, Tsukki! Thanks for letting us come tonight. But like, wow. You really must work hard to master something like that. I don't know how well I could dance on a pole like that. It really does take some technique, you were right," Yamaguchi said. 

Taking a breath, Tsukishima smiled to the compliments. It was a good feeling to know that it was a worthwhile experience for them all. "Thanks. And yeah, it really does. But uh... so I'm not closing tonight anymore, and I should probably get some rest so I can get a start on all of that homework we have," Tsukki said. "I have to go home tonight, not to Oikawa's place."

Thinking for a bit, Yamaguchi leaned over to Daichi and murmured something to him. Then the boy looked back to Tsukki. "Do you mind if I walk you home?" Yamaguchi asked.

It was a surprise to know that Yamaguchi actually wanted to walk home with him. It was a shock that he wanted to spend so much time with Tsukki to begin with. But the boy wasn't going to question it. "Uh... Yeah, I guess that will be okay. Maybe we could get started on our psych assignment?" Tsukki said with a laugh.

The two boys stood up and started to walk out of the building and Tsukki waved to Saeko as he left. "So you do this and you close on school nights? Tsukki, are you crazy? I know this is something you have to do, but you're going to exhaust yourself doing it too often. Tell me that you've cut your schedule a little more?"

"Actually, I just told Saeko that I wasn't coming in on Wednesday. It's one of the two days I work next week. I have cut down on my schedule though, back to only working twice a week, rather than five times a week," Tsukki said with a sigh. "I hate having to do it, but I have to I feel. I need to focus on school, and I can't exhaust myself and risk having you drug me again," Tsukishima said. He was holding back a smirk, until Yamaguchi created a sound of distress. "Kidding, kidding. I know you didn't know the harm. I forgive you," he said as they continued to walk.

His family house really wasn't too far from the club, but it was still a walk. They kept on chatting about school and they talked about their dance pieces. Yamaguchi asked for advice with ballet, and Tsukki gave it to him as well as he could. The two boys laughed about their psych assignment and the prospect of starting it as late as they were going to.

Once the boys approached Tsukishima's house, he slowed to a stop and stared ahead. "O-oh... Uh, Yamaguchi, I wanted to do that psych assignment with you and invite you inside, but... now I'm thinking it's not a very good idea..." he said as he looked at the car that was parked in front of the house. "Please just... go home, yeah? Thanks for the good night and... I'll see you in school," Tsukki said.

Swallowing thickly, Tsukki glanced at Yamaguchi, who had given him a bit of a confused look. But that was really only fair, as Yamaguchi had no idea what was going on. "Oh... Okay, yeah. Maybe we can text about it later, yeah? We can always skype too to get the assignment done," Yamaguchi suggested, looking to where Tsukishima had been focusing on.

There definitely seemed to be something wrong, and Tsukki knew there was something wrong, but Yamaguchi just didn't know what it was. "Maybe, sure. I'll see you later..." Tsukki said as he started to approach his house, and Yamaguchi slowly started to make his way back to the route to home.

It was definitely a very concerning situation. Yamaguchi hadn't heard from Tsukki the rest of the night, and he had even tried texting Tsukki a few times that weekend, but Yamaguchi didn't get an answer. Yamaguchi was definitely beyond worried when he went to class the following week and Tsukishima wasn't in class the first two days. He was about ready to go to his house and see what was going on, but there was something about the way that Tsukishima hesitated to walk inside that told Yamaguchi it wasn't a good idea at all.

Really, it was none of Tadashi's business, but he wanted to know what the problem was. He wanted to be there for Kei and he wanted to make sure he was okay.

What Yamaguchi didn't know was that the car in front of Tsukishima's house had been Tsukishima's father's car, and Yamaguchi didn't know how serious it was that Tsukki's dad had come back home on a night like tonight.


	10. Chapter 10

It was a Wednesday morning, and it was a Wednesday morning that Tsukki was really just dreading. After missing two days of classes though, Tsukishima had to make himself go to class as he was, regardless of if his body was actually ready to go through the pain of having to dance. It wasn't like him to miss two days of school, but he was honestly far too weak to even get himself out the front door. He certainly tried, but he never got down the front steps.

As Tsukishima stood in the bathroom after his typical morning routine of doing everything he could to avoid eating, but being forced to eat at least a banana anyway by his mother, he winced at the bruise that he was staring at in the mirror. It was one that took up nearly his entire shoulder and started with his collarbone. Tsukishima had to use makeup to cover it, which was very unfortunate, and it caused him pain to try to cover it, but it was just something he would have to do. Tsukishima knew that he would have to cover it. He was thankful that he had access to these things, particularly because he was friends with Oikawa and Suga. They gave him all of the stage makeup he needed.

Wincing as he stood back, inspecting himself and making sure he looked decent enough, Tsukishima took a breath as he left the bathroom. He didn't think anyone was paying attention, so Tsukishima wouldn't have to worry about facing harassment from anyone about having makeup. His mother wouldn't dream of teasing him for having makeup on, but his father would harass him and take it from him. Sure, he could get more from Suga and Oikawa, but he didn't need to hear them worry about him right now. So Tsukki snuck out of the house and left for classes, groaning at the thought of having to walk all the way there. But he did it anyway.

He was early getting to campus, and of course, Suga and Oikawa were outside, waiting for the boy. Tsukishima hadn't replied to any of their messages, so he knew that they were beyond worried about him. They realized right away that they had a reason to be worried as Tsukishima approached.

They said nothing at first, as they were watching him walk and all the tension in his body. "Oh, Kei..." Suga finally said as he came closer, biting his lip and reaching to touch his shoulder. "You're walking all stiffly, and... is that cover up? The foundation I gave you?" Suga asked as he inspected Tsukishima's neck, as if he was going to be able to see what he was hiding.

But Oikawa already knew. He sighed and he shook his head. "You won't be able to dance like that, you know. Just go talk to your teachers and ask for a pass on dancing for a little while. If they have any problems, you'll just have to show them that you really can't for the day. It's probably best if you rest for the rest of the week, too," Oikawa said, letting out a bit of a sigh.

When Suga stood back, he nodded in agreement with Oikawa. "Was it... Is this what I think it is again?" Suga asked quietly, not wanting the other students to overhear him. Suga never wanted to cause more problems for anyone, so he was always careful about the way he said things. All it took was a sigh and a gentle nod from Tsukki to give Suga his answer. The two boys were very protective over Tsukishima, and they never wanted bad things to happen to him. Some things, though, they couldn't protect him from.

But when a sigh left Oikawa's lips, he shook his head. "This is why I'm telling you... just move in with us officially. I mean, we probably should have just left you one of our keys anyway. That was my mistake. But you should just move in with us so you don't have to worry about going back home. All of your stuff will be in our place, not just the few outfits you have over there now, and we can make sure that stuff like this doesn't happen again. Kei-Chan, please move in with us. Don't make me beg," Oikawa said as he reached for Suga's hand.

After a moment of thinking, Tsukishima shrugged a bit. "Yeah, yeah, maybe at some point soon. I just... you know, I don't want to leave my mom to deal with him all on her own. I mean, she is the one that married him, but I still don't want her to be alone with him all the time. I think he's probably leaving again by the end of the week, but I just can't leave her there on her own until then. I can deal with this," Tsukishima said. He then began to walk towards his first class.

The response that Tsukishima gave couldn't have been surprising to them at this rate. They both knew that Tsukishima put off moving in with them all the time, and they had to know what his response was going to be right then. They just sighed and watched Tsukishima off to the dance building of the campus. Tsukishima didn't look back, as he didn't need to see their disappointed looks once again.

As Tsukishima went into his choreography classroom, he was thankful to see that the desks were set up. Hopefully that meant that they wouldn't have to actually dance. He wasn't very thankful for seeing Yamaguchi waiting where they normally sat. The way his face lit up and grew in worry caused Tsukishima to sigh a bit as he approached, putting his bag by a desk. "Hey, sorry I missed the last couple of days. Did you manage without me, though?" Tsukishima asked. Once he climbed into the desk, he hid the wince he made as he adjusted himself to get comfortable.

"Well yeah, I didn't have a choice. But what happened? Did something happen when I walked you home this weekend?" Yamaguchi asked as he took a seat, looking Tsukishima over very thoroughly and it caused Tsukki to feel the anxiety. He knew that Yamaguchi wouldn't have had a choice to dance on his own, or to make due the last two days, but he still felt bad that he even had to miss school for two days. Tsukki was also worried that Yamaguchi would be able to see through the cover up.

Sighing, Tsukishima needed an out. He needed to find a way not to have to tell Yamaguchi about what had happened. Just as he was about to speak though, a saving grace had hit him. The teacher had walked into the room and she had stood up in the middle of the class, clearing her throat and getting everyone's attention. "Alright, let's get started," she said and Tsukishima was just thankful that she had started class.

It was when she had shown them a video that Yamaguchi had leaned close to Tsukishima and he had whispered to him. "You didn't answer me. Are you okay at least?" he asked in a curious voice, causing Tsukishima to tense up a bit again. He really didn't want to talk about any of this. Hell, he didn't need anyone else knowing what was going on. He didn't need Yamaguchi knowing more about his personal life than necessary.

All Tsukishima had to do was shrug and nod afterwards for Yamaguchi to leave him alone for the rest of the video. That was a rather encouraging thing, although Tsukki had a feeling that he would want to know more at some point. 

When the video was done though, the teacher wanted the class to push the desks to the side so they could work on their individual dance numbers with their partners. Tsukki did get the desk to the side wall, but he then went to the teacher to have a bit of a chat with her. There was really just no way that he was going to be able to dance today, even though he was attending class. "Hey, so... I know I emailed you already, and I am so sorry about missing class. I'm also sorry about this... but I don't think I'll be able to dance today either, I just didn't want to miss class today and get in trouble with the attendance policy," Tsukishima said. He had a sheepish smile on his face, and he bit the inside of his lip afterwards. "I'm... rather bruised up from things that happened this weekend still, so I just... don't want to hurt myself more," Tsukishima said quietly.

His teacher nodded and let out a breath. "You and Yamaguchi are free to leave class for today, then. I noticed you seemed a little more on the stiff side today, so I was wondering. But please don't hurt yourself more. Go on, you're free to rest for the day," she said.

The relief that fell over Tsukishima's face was large and very appreciative. He was just glad that he was getting a pass this time around, and he wouldn't have to put more stress on his already-hurting body. "Thank you, I appreciate that," Tsukishima said quietly as he nodded to her and went back over to his bag.

That was when Yamaguchi cleared his throat a bit. "So... Are you going to tell me what happened?" he asked as he looked at Tsukishima from where he was sitting on the ground to stretch out. He seemed confused that Tsukki was picking up his bag. "Wait, where are you going? Tsukki, you have to talk to me..." Yamaguchi said with a sigh. But that wasn't going to happen, so Tsukishima lifted his bag and he headed off to the exit.

"We have off for the rest of class today. You don't have to stay here," Tsukki said. He just shrugged and didn't bother waiting for Yamaguchi. There was only twenty minutes left of class anyway, so Tsukki went to go wait in the lounge closest to their psych class.

As he sat down and started to pull out his notes for psych, Yamaguchi came over with an exasperated look on his face. "We have the day off? What's going on? Tsukki, come on, I thought we were getting closer again," Yamaguchi whined as he took a seat in the chair next to the blond boy. Tsukki was currently pulling on his hair, wondering just how much homework he could get away with turning in. Their psych teacher did send him the assignments, but Tsukki just wasn't too sure on what he could turn in or not, or what was acceptable to turn in this late. But he really didn't have a choice.

"I'm fine, just sore, okay?" Tsukki said quietly.

When a groan left Yamaguchi's lips, he blinked at the boy and he continued to study him. "I need to know what happened so we can be careful when we practice. I need to know where you are sore so I don't hurt you more," Yamaguchi said. When the black-haired boy's phone buzzed, he looked at it. "Yachi... I'm sorry, but I can't focus on you right now..." he said as he put his phone back in his pocket and looked back at Tsukki.

Sighing, Tsukishima moved to stand, as he realized it was time for the next class now. "I'm going to ask not to practice for the next couple of days. I don't think I can with how my body is right now, Are you okay with holding off on practicing for a little while?" Tsukishima asked and he licked his lips, feeling bad that Yamaguchi was putting off answering his girlfriend for Tsukishima. Subconsciously, he was cheering about that fact and he wanted the boy to give him as much attention as he possibly could. It wasn't exactly fair to expect Yamaguchi to turn his attention off of his girlfriend though, so Tsukki felt badly on the surface.

As Yamaguchi stood up, he started to walk next to Tsukki so they could get to their psych class. "Sure. We have another couple weeks, so heal up and feel better. We can dance when you're not sore anymore. But please tell me what happened..." Yamaguchi asked and he frowned a bit when Tsukki shook his head. There was no way he was going to tell Yamaguchi about his father right now. There was no way that he was letting Yamaguchi get in that far. The less Yamaguchi knew about Tsukishima, the better. He was definitely not interested in sharing his entire life story.

The rest of the day was stressful for Tsukishima, not getting to dance and having to watch his classmates in ballet practice their performance without him. But it was just something he would have to not think about for a little while more. He also had to find a way to avoid Yamaguchi at the end of the day, because that was just something he didn't want to deal with. 

As the day came to a close, Tsukki decided that he would help Oikawa and Suga feel a little better by at least stopping by their apartment. He didn't go straight there, as he had to talk with some of his professors and ask to have passes for the rest of the week, but he did eventually make it there.

When Tsukki opened up the door, he rose an eyebrow at the loud voices coming from inside the apartment. It was a surprise that Oikawa was just sitting on the couch, too, not participating in the yelling. Oikawa glanced at Tsukki, and while he gave Tsukishima a look, he bit his lip. "Help me..." he murmured as he looked back to the kitchen. This was concerning. Suga was yelling, and when Suga was yelling, that meant terrible things for everyone involved. Suga was rather frightening when he was angry.

But then, Tsukishima froze up when he saw a figure approach from the kitchen. "Don't you walk away from me, Kuroo!" Suga yelled as he came from the kitchen into the living room.

"I'd listen to him if I were you. You're also in our apartment, so you really should follow our rules," Oikawa said. Tsukishima could tell that there was a bit of venom in his voice as he said the words to Kuroo, which made sense, because Oikawa absolutely could not stand Kuroo. But Tsukishima really just wanted to know what Kuroo was doing there.

As Kuroo scoffed, he shook his head. "I just won't help you two with the recording you so desperately need, then," Kuroo said as he rose his eyebrow before he turned his head to see Tsukishima, who was just standing in the door way. They stared at each other for a few moments, before Kuroo smirked a bit. "Of course you would be friends with these two. I don't know why I was expecting anything different," he said as he cocked up an eyebrow.

It seemed that Suga was about fuming at that point. "We don't need your help, you know. We know other sound engineering students," Suga said as he clenched his fist. He saw Tsukishima, softened for a moment, before he turned his eyes back to Kuroo and just glared. "Another thing I'm mad about! What is it with you sleeping with our friends, huh? Do you have no boundaries or something? Why is it always our friends that you sleep with and screw over?" Suga asked with a voice that Tsukishima winced away from. He started to back out of the apartment, when Suga looked at Tsukki and put a hand up. "Kuroo will be leaving soon, so don't you leave too," he said.

There was absolutely no way that Tsukishima was going to disobey Suga when he was in a mood like this. It was rather embarrassing that Suga was bringing any of this up in front of him, but Tsukki wasn't going to say anything. He just set his bag down, took off his jacket, and went to go sit next to Oikawa, who was just glaring at Kuroo. He really did have a dislike for the boy, so really, Tsukki didn't blame Oikawa for the glare. He knew the reasons behind hating Kuroo a little more now, but Tsukki wondered if Oikawa was just being unfair to Kuroo. That was probably very accurate, Tsukishima thought.

Finally, Kuroo opened his mouth to speak. "I do have boundaries! I wouldn't try to sleep with you or Oikawa, and I didn't know that Tsukishima there was your friend. I had no idea. So this can't be put on me," Kuroo said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

When Suga narrowed his eyes even further, Tsukishima figured that his stare could have burnt a hole into the wall. "You know, I really don't get you. I really don't. You talk about Akaashi all the time with the group, but then you turn around and sleep with someone else? I get that it might not be easy for you to keep it in your pants, but you certainly could try a little harder if you have a thing for that cello player. Or are you just over Akaashi now?" Suga asked as he eyed Kuroo and tried to get the information out of him.

Sputtering and clearing his throat, Kuroo looked away from Suga and bit his lip. "Why does it matter who I sleep with anyway? It's not like you're my mother or anything, so I don't owe you any explanations. Tsukishima is a grown man, he knew what he was getting into when I made my move. Didn't you, Tsukki?" Kuroo deflected, trying to turn the topic onto something else, very clearly.

There was no way that Tsukishima was going to say anything and get himself involved in whatever this argument was. There was no way that he was going to piss Suga off more and tell Suga that he actually might have enjoyed it a bit. "So you're over Akaashi then? Maybe you could stop talking everyone's ear off about him then. He's not a God, Kuroo. But if you're over him, we shouldn't have to hear about him for our entire lunch," Suga said. The silver-haired boy had crossed his arms over his own chest and he had looked Kuroo up and down. 

It was clear that there was tension in Kuroo's shoulders and he was getting uncomfortable with all of this. Snickering a bit, quietly and to Oikawa, Tsukishima wondered exactly who this Akaashi person was. Clearly, Kuroo was smitten over this boy, with how he was reacting. "I'll be going now. I'll... work on that soundtrack for you and I'll message you with any questions I have. Later!" Kuroo said as he went to the door.

Once Kuroo had left, it put a silence over the apartment for a few moments. Tsukishima looked over at Suga, and he could tell that Suga was thinking. There was something happening in that brain of his. Suga had a plan, or something like that. Tsukishima wasn't too sure that he wanted to know. "I just wanted to come by, to show you two that I am fine and I managed to get through the day. The teachers gave me the day off and I asked them if I could take it easy for the rest of the week. I should probably go to the library again to work on written assignments though, since Yamaguchi and I are taking a rehearsal break too."

Oikawa had eyed Tsukishima over again and he hummed a bit. "You gonna be okay? Also, make sure you get a snack for the library. Don't want you to pass out there with no energy." Oikawa and Tsukki shared a look, and they were lucky that Suga wasn't looking at the moment. The look told Tsukishima that Oikawa was serious and he wanted Tsukki to eat.

"I'm starting to get why you don't like him more and more now. He's not a bad guy when you get to know him and he really does hold up on his promises, but... Wow, he is frustrating and he challenges everything... I'm surprised that you _don't_ like him, babe," Suga said. That statement caused Tsukishima to snort and laugh, throwing his head back into the cushion as the laughter had painfully rattled through his core.

It seemed that Oikawa was taking offense to that, because he stood up and threw up his arms to Suga before his arms were around Suga's shoulders. "What is that supposed to mean?" Oikawa asked as he eyed his boyfriend. Tsukishima continued to snicker, moving to stand.

After a soft grunt had left his lips, it seemed that Oikawa and Suga were right on him and there for him. Oikawa had his arm around Tsukki's hip and his hand on Tsukki's other side. Suga had been right in front of him, holding onto Tsukishima's shoulders. They had jumped, because Tsukki looked like he was going to fall over for a moment, apparently. "Maybe you should stay here for the night, Tsukki-Chan," Oikawa had said, but his voice was laced with quite a bit of worry. Tsukishima hated worrying these two more than anything, so he groaned as he pushed Oikawa's arms off of him.

That was when Suga got the hint and pulled his hands away from Tsukishima's shoulders, which was a relief, because Tsukishima's shoulders were still very sore. "I'm not staying. I can't stay. I have to work on these assignments. My dance teachers won't make me dance, but they want different written assignments done because I'm taking a break," Tsukki said as he started to walk towards the wall where his bag and jacket was.

The couple frowned and looked at one another, just sad that they couldn't seem to help their best friend. Granted, Tsukishima really wasn't the type to ask for help, so they really never got the chance to help the boy when he needed it. They were just left to worry about him. It really wasn't a bother to Tsukishima, though, as he always felt their worry, even if he was perfectly fine.

On the walk to the library, Tsukki reached to rub at his neck. It didn't dawn on him just how dumb it was for him to rub at his skin, as he was really rubbing away his foundation and cover up, which was hiding the bruises on his body. It was dumb because Tsukki was showing just how bruised he really was at the moment, but no one really seemed to pay attention. Even when he got to the library, if they saw it, they didn't say anything. Tsukki just went to go sit at a table in the library and he didn't think he would need help with his psychology work at the moment. It was just a matter of getting it done.

After a little while of working on his assignment, Tsukishima groaned as he rubbed more at his neck and shoulder. It was starting to get very painful, but he didn't have pain medication at that given moment. Hopefully, the pain would go away soon on its own. Really, he should have taken something while he was home or back at Oikawa's apartment. But he was dumb and he really didn't think about the pain when he was there. He was more focused on the embarrassment of Kuroo being there and worried about being yelled at for his choice in sleeping partners once again.

He started on one of the dance assignments after he finished the psychology work, and he just started to look up sources on his phone. These two page papers were really just ridiculous in Tsukishima's mind, but he would do it anyway, since he wasn't going to be dancing for a little while longer.

That was when he heard a gasp from in front of him, and Tsukishima stopped the sentence he was writing to look up and see Yamaguchi standing there. "Tsukki... How did _that_ happen to you?" Yamaguchi asked as he pointed to Tsukki, somewhere on his upper body. "That really doesn't look good. Have you gotten it checked out...? What happened?"

The nerves that this entire situation brought along with it really didn't make Tsukki feel any better on a physical level. All of his muscles tensing constantly through the day had not been so good for the state he was in. He bit his lip and tried to look down to where Yamaguchi was pointing. "What are you talking about?" Tsukki asked, trying to play it off as if he didn't know what Yamaguchi was talking about. Really, shouldn't Tsukki have been in the clear with his makeup? As he tried to look down, he really couldn't see the skin of his neck. But that was when he saw his hand and realized just how powdered it was, realizing that he was probably rubbing the makeup off by mistake. This was definitely not a good thing.

When Tsukki picked up his phone and used his front facing camera to check himself over, he gasped silently and he realized that Yamaguchi was talking about his shoulders in that given moment. "Oh... that, aha..." Tsukki said in a huff, turning off his camera and locking his phone. He bit his lip, keeping his eyes down at the moment. Honestly, he was avoiding the scrutinizing gaze that Yamaguchi had to be giving him in the moment. "I don't know if you'll want to know how it happened, so I'm... probably not going to tell you about it," Tsukki said with a wince, wishing he could just tell Yamaguchi everything. But there were things that he knew he just couldn't share, which made this harder. It was also the fact that the two boys were getting too close as it was, so Tsukki was hesitant to share more of himself.

But that was when Yamaguchi came over to Tsukishima's side of the table and he took a seat. For a moment, all Yamaguchi had been doing was looking over Tsukki's neck. But then he cleared his throat. "I'm taking you back home with me. Asahi can look at this. He usually looks at all of our dance or other injuries, and he will have things that will help," Yamaguchi said as he started to reach for Tsukishima's bag, going to open it up and throw in all of the books that Tsukishima had out. "He's really good whenever I've twisted my ankle or I've banged my arms too hard on the floor. He'll be able to help you with this too, believe me," Yamaguchi gushed as he finished putting everything in the bag, moving to stand up with Tsukishima's bag over his arm.

This entire situation started to dumbfound Tsukishima and he wasn't sure what to say. For one, Yamaguchi was just taking his stuff. Two, he was forcing Tsukki to come get checked out by one of his friends? "Yamaguchi... I don't want anyone else to see this though... I've already had to show my ballet teacher and... That was embarrassing enough," Tsukki said as he stood up. The pair started to walk towards the exit, but they moved slowly because Yamaguchi had a feeling that Tsukishima wasn't walking so well at the given moment. That was thoughtful, though Tsukishima could definitely keep up. He tried to reach for his bag, but Yamaguchi was quick to shoot him down.

Shaking his head, Yamaguchi didn't seem to want to take no as an answer. "Uh, you're coming home with me so you can get that looked at. I don't care what kind of embarrassment you feel, because an injury like that is absolutely no good. Asahi will care for it. If not, you can at least rest there, okay?" Yamaguchi said.

Right as they reached the library exit and Tsukishima started to complain, a group of girls walked in, and Tsukishima tensed up even further at the blonde girl standing there. The other girls walked into the library around Yamaguchi and Tsukki, but the one girl stood there, her jaw hanging open a little. "Oh, there you are. Where are you going? I thought we were supposed to meet outside of the library. I told you I'd be here in a few minutes," Yachi said, tilting her head back a bit. There was a bit of a scowl on her face right then, and Tsukki started to feel himself start to get frustrated over how she was behaving.

That was when Yamaguchi sighed and shook his head. "Yachi, something came up. I'm sorry. Also, I'm sorry I won't be able to work on your presentation with you, but I can't stay. I have to go," Yamaguchi said with a pout on his lips. "But I can still text you, yeah? It's not like I'll be unable to message," Yamaguchi said as he moved closer to the girl.

They shared a kiss where it seemed like Yachi wasn't putting any effort in at the moment. "Sure, yeah, I'll see you soon," Yachi said after they pulled away from the kiss, and the pair had just parted ways. Yachi just walked between Yamaguchi and Tsukishima, bumping into Tsukishima 'accidentally,' though Tsukishima was pretty sure it wasn't accidental at all.

The bumping had caused Tsukishima to have a wave of pain due to the bruises littering his body, and the boy had reached a hand to rub at the side that Yachi had run into, because Tsukishima was in pain everywhere. He didn't have time to think about that pain though, because Yamaguchi was already walking again, telling Tsukishima to follow. It seemed like Yamaguchi wasn't going to let up at any point, and he didn't notice that Tsukishima had been rubbing at this side, or he would have waited. Really, it seemed like Yamaguchi just wanted to get back home so he could have Asahi look him over. As frustrating as this was, Tsukishima had no choice but to follow him, as Yamaguchi had his dance assignments, and he needed to finish those in the time that he was out for his injuries.

As the pair walked, they kept at their slow pace and Yamaguchi looked at Tsukishima to judge if he was okay walking. "Hey, sorry about Yachi, by the way. She and I were meant to be working on one of her projects and I was supposed to tell her what I think. But she really doesn't need me, so I don't think that it's really that important that I'm there for it," Tadashi said.

Shrugging, Kei just took a breath. "It is what it is, I guess. You didn't have to ditch her for me, though. I would have been okay," Kei had said. As they walked their way towards what Tsukishima assumed was his family's house, Yamaguchi stayed pretty quiet after that.

Once they arrived to the house, Tsukishima followed Yamaguchi to the front door and followed Yamaguchi's example of taking his shoes off at the front door. "Thanks, Asahi won't panic as bad now. He would have panicked worse when I told him about your condition when I got home tonight," Yamaguchi said as he pushed open the front door.

Tsukishima could only remember all of their faces and he really only remembered Tanaka's name, but that's only because Saeko was his sister. "Is Asahi home?" Yamaguchi asked as he set both of their bags down and Tsukishima looked around the small home.

Nodding, Tanaka didn't turn his attention away from the video game he was playing at that given moment. "Upstairs. He's with Noya," Tanaka grumbled and he grunted at something on the television screen.

That was when Yamaguchi looked at Tsukishima, and he motioned for the boy to follow him somewhere. Tsukishima was pretty preoccupied seeing the small space that they all lived in. It was a nice space, absolutely, but it was still a rather small space. The walls were all a pale blue color, and there were pictures and posters littering the walls. There were some of the entire team, some of different dance posters, and so on. Tsukishima looked over to see a kitchen, where different paperwork was held and mail seemed to be scattered over the counter. There was a loaf of bread and a bag of apples there too. Tsukishima was just surprised that they all lived in such a small space comfortably. "How many bedrooms are there?" Tsukki asked in an attempt to make small talk, making a bit of a face.

Letting out a bit of a laugh, Yamaguchi walked towards an inner hallway. "There are only three bedrooms. I share a room with Daichi right now. But whenever he brings people over, I usually sleep on the couch if he needs space," Yamaguchi said with a bit of an eyebrow waggle. "That doesn't happen often though. Ryuu and Enno pretend that they still need two beds in the bedroom they share, but we've all caught Ryuu sleeping in Enno's bed more than once. And then Asahi and Noya share a room because... well, they are engaged," Yamaguchi said as he reached the top of the stairs.

The stairs were creaky, but they were safe enough. They seemed old, but the interior of the house wasn't as old as Tsukishima was anticipating. When they finished climbing the stairs, Yamaguchi knocked on the middle door in the hall they walked down. "Hey, Asahi, when you and Noya are done, do you think you could come out and look at Tsukki for me?" Yamaguchi said through the wooden door.

"Oh, Tsukki is here? Welcome, Tsukki!" A voice said from inside the room. If Tsukishima remembered correctly, that was the voice of Noya. "Make yourself at home. Asahi is organizing the dresser again, so it might take a few minutes," Noya said through the door. That was when the door opened and Noya pulled it open all the way. "Tsukishima, that performance of yours really was rather... attractive," Noya said with a grin. He had reached to punch Tsukki on the upper arm as a bit of a joke and a friendly gesture it seemed, but Yamaguchi's reflexes were very fast. There was no way that Yamaguchi was going to let Tsukishima get punched or hurt any further than he already was it seemed, and although Tsukishima appreciated it, he was sure he could handle a gentle nudge from Noya.

A look of rejection crossed Noya's face when Yamaguchi had caught his wrist and held onto it. "Noya, Tsukki is kind of injured at the moment. That's why I want Asahi to look at him," Yamaguchi said, letting go of Noya's wrist after giving him a harsh look. Noya retracted his arm and he nodded slowly, shrugging a bit before going back into his room. It was right then that Tsukki realized that Noya wasn't wearing pants. Just his boxers. "Sorry about him, and sorry about what he's wearing. We don't really have boundaries in this house..." Yamaguchi said. He took a breath and he motioned for Tsukishima to walk a little ways down to the end of the hall.

When he opened up the bedroom door, it seemed to be a bigger room than what he looked in upon with Noya. But there were also two smaller beds in the room, where there was only one larger bed in the other room. Tsukki could only assume that this room was Yamaguchi's room, the one that he shared with Daichi.

Standing there awkwardly, Tsukishima licked his lips and looked around the space. It seemed to be orderly, though there was a bit of clutter by the foot of one of the beds. Yamaguchi went to go sit on the bed with the clutter by the foot of it, and he looked at Tsukki with a confused look. "You're allowed to sit. You'll have to take off your shirt though, so Asahi can see the full extent of the bruising," Yamaguchi said, eyeing Tsukki as if he were on display. It also seemed like Yamaguchi was curious to see where the bruising was.

With a sigh, Tsukishima made his way to sit next to Yamaguchi on his bed, noting that there were figurines on one of the shelves in the room. They were different superheroes, different characters, and Tsukki just found that to be rather comical. "Who do those belong to?" Tsukki asked when he pointed to the shelf before he sat down. Tsukishima really couldn't guess, but he noted that the book shelf was more on Daichi's side of the room.

Laughter filled the room, and it seemed a bit awkward. "Most of them are mine. A few of them belong to Daichi, but really... they're mostly mine. Tanaka has so many more in his room and Enno throws them into the hall whenever he is mad at Tanaka," Yamaguchi said with a bit of a grin. It was a soft grin, and it really seemed to suit the boy quite nicely. "You should get your shirt off before Asahi gets in here," Yamaguchi suggested as he looked Tsukki over.

Another sigh had left Tsukishima's lips, and he started to pull his shirt off. With a grunt, he managed to get it off. That was when Yamaguchi gasped again, and he touched Tsukishima's bare arm. "Tsukki... what..."

Luckily enough, Asahi walked into the room at that moment, with Noya right behind, who was carrying different medical supplies. Tsukishima just wasn't in the correct mood to avoid telling Yamaguchi about the horrors of his father and personal life. "Alright, let's take a... well damn, Tsukishima. This isn't a typical injury, I take it?" Asahi asked. 

With a breath, Tsukki shook his head slowly, looking down at the hands he had folded up on his lap. It really wasn't a typical injury, at least not one that any of them would have seen before, or so he hoped. Tsukishima had experienced a ton of these injuries from the past, and this was definitely not the worst of them. It still was one of the bad moments, but it wasn't the worst.

"It's all good. We'll just have to make sure you're not bleeding from anywhere and we can get you wrapped up after ice, so you can heal faster. Noya, could you go grab the pain killers in the bathroom? The strong ones that Daichi had when he broke his wrist? And then an ice pack from the freezer with a dish towel?" Asahi asked as he looked back at Noya. Nodding quickly, Noya left the room to go get the supplies, presumably. "Wow... the bruises really are everywhere. Can you lift up your left arm there? I want to look at your ribs..." Asahi said.

Slowly, and with pain, Tsukishima lifted his arm so Asahi could see the bruising under his arm. As he investigated, Asahi hummed and licked his lips. "Doesn't look like there's too much bruising around any rib in particular, which is definitely a good thing. You lucked out there. Alright, where are the tenderest areas?" Asahi asked as Tsukishima put down his arm, unable to hold it up any longer.

Pointing to his collarbone, Tsukishima winced when Yamaguchi held onto his other hand suddenly. Tsukki was doing his best not to just pull the hand away from Yamaguchi. He really wasn't too sure why Yamaguchi was holding his hand right then, but Yamaguchi was doing so regardless. It was something that Tsukishima wasn't going to pull away from, because it was a comfort. But it was also something that confused Tsukki, as Yamaguchi had a girlfriend that would flip if she found out. Not that Yamaguchi knew that she would flip out, because he seemed to be oblivious to thinks like this, but she would flip regardless.

When Asahi nodded and looked at the area, he took a breath. "Alright, I have this spray. It only lasts for a couple of hours, so I suggest you spray it on your collarbone rather gently and you can either rub it in, or just let it sit and dry. It's supposed to numb your skin, so really, it's meant to help with these types of things. But I just suggest doing it before you go to bed, just because it might help ease the pain and help you get to sleep faster," Asahi said as he handed Tsukishima a bottle. "You can keep it. I don't expect to get it back. You're only supposed to do it once a day, but doing so twice a day wouldn't hurt. Only use it when it gets really bad though. I don't want to be responsible for any type of further injury."

That was when Noya came back with a prescription bottle and ice pack, and Asahi hummed a bit. "Have you eaten anything?" Asahi asked as he handed Tsukishima the ice pack with the towel, motioning for him to put it against either his ribs or his collarbone.

The anxiety grew in Tsukishima's chest when Asahi asked about food. This was a topic that he really wanted to avoid, but what was he going to do? He shook his head slowly, and he heard a sigh come from Yamaguchi. This was becoming more and more stressful. At least the ice was helping. "Not since breakfast, really..." It was true. He had eaten a banana before leaving for school that morning, just so his mother wouldn't worry even more. When Yamaguchi tightened his hand, Tsukishima bit his lip. This was getting far too complicated and he wished he hadn't gone to the library. He wished he would have just stayed inside Oikawa's apartment instead like the two of them wanted from him, so he hadn't run into Yamaguchi.

After saying that, Asahi hummed a bit. "We can feed you, but it's dangerous to take these strong pain killers without having anything in your stomach. They definitely will help, but you need to eat first," Asahi said.

That was a deal breaker for Tsukishima. He looked down as Asahi looked at Noya. "Can you text Daichi and have him bring home extra food tonight? I want Tsukishima to eat before he takes these, and I really want him to take one before he leaves here," Asahi said as he pulled away. Noya nodded and he pulled out his cellphone, going to text. "Alright, we will tell you when Daichi is here with the food. Just relax for a little while longer and we will get you fed. Alright?" Asahi said with a smile before he and Noya left.

When the two left, Tsukishima sighed and shook his head. "You know, I appreciate you caring and all of that, but... I'm really just not feeling very well, and I don't think eating will help any." That was honestly the best excuse he could come up with for why he didn't want to eat.

There was a look on Yamaguchi's face when Tsukishima had said that. He looked confused and a bit hurt. Maybe it was because Tsukishima was declining their help, but it was only because Tsukishima didn't want to be forced to eat a meal in front of people he hardly knew. He hardly ate in front of Oikawa and Suga, and Oikawa definitely knew about his eating disorders. "Maybe eating is what you need to do, though. Eating can solve lots of problems. Maybe you could just try? It would make Asahi feel better, that's for sure," Yamaguchi said as he slowly pulled his hand away from Tsukishima. It seemed like he didn't realize he was holding Tsukki's hand. He was also trying to guilt Tsukishima into eating because it would make Asahi feel better. Even though Tsukki hardly knew him, he really didn't want to hurt Asahi more than he had to.

Thinking for a moment, Tsukishima could pretend to try, but it would be very difficult for him to eat enough to actually have enough in his stomach for the pain pills that Asahi wanted to give to him. "I guess I could try... I won't promise anything though," Tsukishima said. He looked down once again and it seemed that a frown was going to be forever plastered on his face.

After a moment of silence, Yamaguchi looked away from Tsukishima and he sighed. "So are you going to tell me what happened? This really worries me, you know. It scares me to think that you got hurt like that and I don't know what caused it. It... Not to sound selfish or anything, but I just worry that you won't be able to do our partnering dance, and I definitely don't want that to happen. Not that I care about the grade more than I care about you..." Yamaguchi said, glancing at Tsukishima again.

Feeling all of the emotions boil up inside of him, Tsukishima bit his lip a little more. "I... Just got hurt. That's all..." Tsukishima said, going back to biting his lip and he kept his gaze far away from Yamaguchi at that point.

It seemed like Tsukishima was going to have to suffer through lying and omitting the truth until he left, but Yamaguchi did finally stop questioning him and he let Tsukishima rest mentally for a bit. They stayed quiet, until there was a crash from down the stairs. "Tanaka, are you kidding me?" they heard someone yell, and they looked at one another before Yamaguchi got up to go towards the door.

"It's Enno... Ryuu is apparently in trouble..." Yamaguchi said. There was a bit of a smirk on his lips, and Tsukishima found that to be very endearing at that very moment. He loved that Yamaguchi was able to pick on his friends the way that Tsukishima could pick on his own friends. He gave them all so much shit, so he wondered why they kept him around.

Following Yamaguchi, Tsukishima stood behind him as he listened down the stairs. "But Enno, it's the new game! I couldn't just leave it unopened! I'm sorry I didn't get our laundry done..." another voice said, and Tsukishima had a feeling it was Ryuu.

There was another grunt from Tanaka, and the two boys from up the stairs snickered quietly and crept back to Yamaguchi's room. The grunt had sounded like Ennoshita had hit him or something.

They weren't in the room for much longer though, as Daichi came inside and he called up the stairs that dinner had arrived. Feeling the anxiety build up inside him, Tsukishima followed Yamaguchi down the stairs and he stood back. Everyone was crowding the bags that Daichi had set down on the counter, and Tsukishima hoped there wouldn't be enough for him to eat any. Unfortunately, Yamaguchi had grabbed him a container of rice and served him some chicken and vegetables. They took the food back up the stairs and Yamaguchi handed Tsukishima a plate. "Daichi works as a kitchen manager at a local buffet, so he gets to bring home however much food he wants to bring home," Yamaguchi said.

Staring down at the food that Yamaguchi had given him, Tsukishima took the pair of disposable chopsticks and he started to push his food around on his plate. He watched as Yamaguchi took a bite, and Yamaguchi's eyes went wide. "Oh! Hey, there's this dance video you need to see. It's so funny," he said as he sat next to Tsukishima. "And go on, eat a bit. I promise, it's not bad," Yamaguchi said as he watched Tsukishima.

With the look on Yamaguchi's face, it seemed that Tsukishima wasn't going to get out of this one. He wouldn't stop watching Tsukki. Wincing a bit, Tsukishima finally took a bite of the vegetables, and he hummed at how flavorful they were. It was really good, but Tsukishima wasn't used to complimenting food like this. Finally, Yamaguchi had stopped staring at him. As Yamaguchi pulled open his phone, Tsukishima sighed as he took another bite, waiting for the video to start.

Eventually it started, and Yamaguchi motioned to Tsukishima's plate a few more times as the video continued. They were watching the video and Tsukishima kept making comments with his mouth full, which he knew had to be unattractive. Before Tsukishima knew it, his meal was already half gone. It was rather incredible that he had sat there, ate half of his food and didn't realize it, and he wasn't upset at himself for doing so in the moment. Yamaguchi had to be a miracle worker. That was the only explanation. But that was also when Tsukishima started to think about his food a little more, and settled his chopsticks down. "I... don't know if I can eat anymore. Did I eat enough you think to take a pain killer?" Tsukishima asked, looking up at Yamaguchi with a curious look.

He sincerely hoped it was a yes, but Yamaguchi inspected his plate anyway. With a nod, Tsukishima felt relief course over his body and he closed his eyes, thanking any gods out there that he could be done with the food. "I'll take your plate and go get one of the pain killers from Asahi," Yamaguchi said.

It really didn't take long for Yamaguchi to leave and then come back with one of the pills. He also had a bottle of water for Tsukishima. Yamaguchi handed them both to Tsukki, who took them and put the pill in his mouth, downing the bottle of water with it. Yamaguchi went to go take care of some of the clutter by the foot of his bed, and Tsukishima leaned against the headboard, figuring that he wasn't going to be able to leave until the pain killers started to work. He didn't want to fight Yamaguchi further than he already had, so he was done with struggling for the night.

It had to be another twenty minutes of silence at least. Yamaguchi sighed as he cleaned, and Tsukishima was just looking at his phone. "So... still not going to tell me what happened, huh? I don't want to guilt it out of you, but... I just thought that we were getting closer. To the point that we could tell each other anything..." That was when Yamaguchi had stopped his cleaning, though Tsukishima hadn't realized it until that moment.

Having zero idea where the emotional outburst came from, Tsukishima groaned and he dropped his phone on his stomach. "Maybe I don't want to tell you because I don't want you to feel bad for me?" Tsukishima said. Realizing that he had said something that would only bring up more questions, Tsukishima's eyes went a little wide.

Yamaguchi's eyes stared at Tsukishima and he started to shake his head. "I... I won't feel bad if you don't want me to, I just... I want to help in any way I possibly can. But that can't happen if you don't tell me what's going on..." Yamaguchi said slowly, coming to take a seat on the foot of the bed. "What's going on?"

With another groan, something inside Tsukishima was just boiling over at the moment and was ready to just burst. Maybe it was the fact that the pain killers were starting to make him a bit delirious, or maybe it was because this was the first time he had felt relief from pain in weeks, but Tsukishima couldn't hold this in anymore. "What's going on is my dad gave me all these bruises! Th-that car that you saw outside my house? It was my d-dad's car, and he... he wasn't supposed to be home for another t-two weeks... Well, he took out all of his work frustrations on me, Yamaguchi... He always blames me for everything, because that's just what he does and he is the one that gave me all of these bruises..." Tsukishima said. There were tears in his eyes and he couldn't look at Yamaguchi in the face, so he looked down at the phone he had dropped on his stomach.

There was silence in the room for another moment, until Yamaguchi finally spoke up. "Wow... Tsukki, that is terrible... Why was he home so early? And what does he get out of beating you? I don't understand how parents can be so abusive to their children..." Yamaguchi said. It was clear that Yamaguchi was trying not to say that he felt sorry for Tsukki, which was an appreciated gesture.

Tsukishima shrugged and he slid down on the bed a little to get more comfortable, the tears still threatening to spill over. The pain medication was starting to make him sleepy, as he really hadn't slept soundly in days, all due to the pain. "I take almost... almost all of the beatings, so my m-mom doesn't have to... She doesn't know most of the time, and she tries to stop them when she knows, but... He mainly beats on me and she doesn't know how often it is either..." Tsukishima said. His voice was only a mere whisper at this point, and he had let the tears start to spill. There was a quiver in his chest and he eventually wrapped his arms around his stomach, letting out a bit of a soft cry.

"Oh, Tsukki... Hey, you're very brave for taking all of this from your father... I'm sure your mother appreciates it, she just doesn't know... But you know what? Your father is an asshole for beating you anyway..." Yamaguchi said. Tsukishima was just in pain, he was cold, and he wanted to lay down. Thankfully enough, Yamaguchi could see that Tsukishima wanted to lay down, so he stood up and he pulled the blanket out from under Tsukki. "Come on... you can sleep here... I'll text Oikawa to tell him you've crashed here..." Yamaguchi said, guiding Tsukishima to lay down.

This wasn't what Tsukishima had wanted. He didn't want to sleep over. Hell, he didn't want to be an inconvenience to anyone, but it was just a rather tough situation to be in. Tsukishima was tired, he was in pain, cold, and he just wanted this all to be over. He also hadn't want to tell Yamaguchi the news like this, but he had. There was no going back now. "Thanks, Yamaguchi..." Tsukki whispered. He sniffled a bit, but it really took no time for him to close his eyes and be asleep. Yamaguchi smiled a sad smile to Tsukishima, and he very gently pulled the glasses off of his face.

"Don't mention it..." Yamaguchi murmured, going to lay down next to Tsukishima. They were face to face as they slept, and honestly, Tsukishima couldn't have felt safer than he had as he slept next to Yamaguchi.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Somewhere in Tsukishima's sleeping mind** _

_"Why do you hang out with her? Why are you dating her? She's terrible for you," Tsukishima said as they stood in a dance studio, but it was a dance studio far too strange to be real. It had to be a dream._

_"I hang out with her and I date her because I thought I couldn't have you. Aren't I right? You'd never date someone like me, right?" Yamaguchi asked as he stretched. He was hardly wearing any clothing, which definitely told Tsukishima that it was a dream._

_"Let's just focus on this dance, the one where we prove that we can work together even though we are two different dance styles and two completely different people, proving that we can work together regardless. I like that we can work together and I like that we are dance partners." Why would he say that? He was being way too upfront. Even in his dream world, he knew that saying something like that was far too personal to say. He didn't need to tell anyone that he liked them._

_Yamaguchi snorted in the dream. "Yeah right, Tsukki. You're just telling me lies to make me feel better. Don't you hate me?" The voice that Yamaguchi used to ask if Tsukki hated him was sad and soft, as if he would cry if Tsukishima gave him a bad answer. The thing that told Tsukishima that it was for sure a dream was the fact that it started to rain inside the building._

_"I really only hate that you're with her. That's the only real reason I hate you. It's not actually you that I hate. I actually really care about you and might be falling in love with you." Tsukishima resigned to the fact that he was no longer in control of what he said. Yamaguchi definitely did not need to know that Tsukki was falling in love with him. Although, it was the truth if he had to be honest._

_That was when Yamaguchi stood up and came closer to Tsukishima. He pressed his hand against Tsukishima's chest and looked him in the eye. "That's it. I'm breaking up with Yachi. I'm in love with you too. Maybe we can do more than dancing today," Yamaguchi suggested._

_"Not right now. Not until you break up with Yachi." Tsukishima knew that even in his dream world, he could not stand that Yamaguchi was with Yachi. It was unfortunate that Yamaguchi was with a girl that was so controlling and cruel..._

\---

_**Somewhere in Yamaguchi's sleeping mind**_

_"Strip for me, baby!" A man without a real recognizable face yelled to the stage. The stage was vaguely familiar, but Yamaguchi couldn't place it at the moment. If he had to guess, it was representative of Tsukishima's strip club._

_Raising and eyebrow and tapping the man on the arm, he got the man to look at him. "He's not your baby. Yes, tip him and show him how much you appreciate him dancing. But he is definitely not your baby."_

_The man huffed out a laugh. "He should be my baby. Who are you, his manager?" he asked._

_This was something that told Yamaguchi that there was something very unreal about this. He gained the courage to speak up and spit out things that he wished were true. "Even better. I'm the man that gets to put my dick inside him every night. Or, you know, he puts it inside me," Yamaguchi said. His face probably grew three shades darker pink when he said that._

_"Yeah right. You're still dating that girl Yachi, aren't you?" The stranger asked. How this man without a face knew that was a mystery to Yamaguchi._

_With a sigh, Yamaguchi nodded slowly. He was definitely a good boy, even in his dreams. He always struggled with lying. "I never wanted Yachi to be a thing. I was only dating her until Tsukishima told me his feelings," Yamaguchi said quietly. "But he's in bed with me right now, so maybe he will tell me his feelings soon!"_

_"So you're not dating him then. I can call him baby if I want to," the man said with a hearty laugh._

_"It's not like he likes it, you dick," Yamaguchi growled and narrowed his eyes._

_The man just continued to laugh. "I bet he likes me more than he likes you right now."_

_Letting out a sigh, Yamaguchi dropped his gaze and resigned to the fact that the man without a face could possibly be right. "Yeah, well he likes anyone more than he likes me."_

\---

Heat was rising in the room as the two boys continued to stay in their slumber of dreams and indulge in the wonderful quiet that was enveloping them at that very moment. Neither boy was snoring, neither of them had been breathing too heavily, and they were both just very comfortable to keep sleeping. Their dreams were stressful at best, but they would wake up and the dreams would fade away.

Being the first to wake up, Yamaguchi opened his eyes to the warm room and his eyes adjusted to see a figure lying next to him. He was used to sleeping next to someone, but he had to be reminded that it wasn't someone he was accustomed to being in bed with. Tsukishima was still asleep, and Yamaguchi would be damned if he dared to wake the boy.

Slowly shifting in the bed, to be careful not to wake the blond next to him, Yamaguchi sat up to see that Daichi had left the room. Or it was possible that Daichi hadn't come to bed last night and just slept on the couch. Either way though, Yamaguchi was thankful for Daichi not being there at that moment.

It seemed like the rest of the house was a little too quiet at the moment. It was possible that everyone was out at work or spending time away from the house at the time, but Yamaguchi would love if his family got to know Tsukishima just a little more. He supposed that would have to wait just a little longer though.

As Yamaguchi leaned back against his headboard and reached for his cellphone, he figured that he wouldn't bother waking Tsukishima and just let him sleep in. He deserved it, so Yamaguchi would just play a game on his phone or something in the meantime. 

Noting that he needed to charge his phone, his eyes traveled to the time and he realized it was late morning already. Yamaguchi had completely forgotten to set his phone alarm to get up for school. He winced and had to decide what to do. Was it really worth getting up for class? Would he have to face the wrath of Tsukishima who hadn't set his alarm either?

Right as Yamaguchi was about to reach for Tsukishima to wake him, he froze as he thought about his school calendar. His eyes widened when he lifted his phone back up and he looked at the date, and he let out a large sigh of relief. It wasn't loud, but it had cured his anxiety. The school had given the entire college time off for an academic recess. It was only two days, but it was still time off for the two boys.

Looking down to Tsukishima, Yamaguchi had smiled down to him and slowly reached a hand down to his hair, very gently adjusting the way the hair was bunched up under the pillow. It was getting longer and Yamaguchi enjoyed seeing Tsukki with longer hair. It suited him well.

That was when he went back to relaxing and allowing Tsukishima to sleep in. He figured that spending time in bed and relaxing as much as possible would be good to do.

Unfortunately, the universe only allowed Yamaguchi another twenty minutes to relax. He played his game and just sat in bed when he received a text message from Tanaka. Tanaka messaged him all the time, so Yamaguchi could usually tell when to get worried about one of his messages. This was definitely one of those times.

**Ryuu (8:43 AM)**  
_Holy shit Yams. Watch the video I'm going to send you. It's super fucking important._

If that wasn't concerning enough, Yamaguchi wasn't sure what the video was going to reveal. He was sure it was something he needed to be concerned over, because Tanaka wouldn't freak him out over something trivial.

That was when the video sent and Yamaguchi loaded it up. He turned the volume down to be courteous of Tsukishima. It was hard to tell where the video was recorded at. It looked as though the first shot was pointed at the floor. Furrowing his brow, Yamaguchi started the video and let his curiosity guide him.

As the video started to change camera angles and Yamaguchi watched as the screen came into focus, he gasped audibly and covered his mouth, eyes going wide at the screen in front of him. "No... No, no..." Yamaguchi whispered behind his hand as he felt tears pricking in his eyes at the video that Tanaka had sent him.

The volume of the video wasn't loud, but it had clearly been loud enough to disturb Tsukishima from his slumber. The tall boy started to stir and stretch his long, lanky body a bit. He let out a bit of a groan and Yamaguchi looked at him, staring down at him for a moment before he got out of bed and went out to the hallway quickly to see if anyone at all was in the house. When he discovered that there was no one there, Yamaguchi let out a sound of frustration and leaned against the wall, using the wall as support to slide down against as he continued watching the video.

It had been a video of Tsukishima stripping. It was the night that Yamaguchi and his family had been there, and Yamaguchi watched as Tsukishima had started to dance on the pole. This had to be one of the worst discoveries there were. How in the world did Tanaka have this video? Where did he get this? Why was there a recording and how did Tanaka get a video of it? Didn't the club have a policy of no videos? Yamaguchi could have sworn he read that on a sign somewhere as they were walking in, and it was a common courtesy rule anyway.

After watching the video to see if there were any hints as to who had posted the video and realized that the video was just playing on a loop now, repeating over and over, Yamaguchi stopped it and he sighed, pressing his hand to his face. He had to get answers. He had to know how Tanaka had this video, and he had to know who posted it to begin with. There was no way that Yamaguchi was going to let Tsukishima suffer like this.

If he was going to get answers, Yamaguchi would start with Ryuu. That was the best thing he could do right now. Ryuu was obviously not home, so Yamaguchi decided to call the boy and get him on the phone. Yamaguchi wanted answers fast. It was Tsukishima's life and reputation that was at stake here, so getting answers quickly needed to happen.

As Tanaka answered, he sounded rather sad himself and didn't even greet Yamaguchi, just started talking in a whirl. "Listen, I know you're upset about that video and bro, I'm mad about it too. Who would have the nerve to go to a strip club and take a video like that? I've told my sister and she's trying to find the person that posted it too and she's yelling at her other staff for not watching the customers more closely."

"So you're telling me it wasn't you?" Yamaguchi said in a low, menacing voice. If he had taken a minute to think about it, Yamaguchi would have known that it wasn't Tanaka. He would never do something like this and Yamaguchi knew it.

With a bit of an exasperated grunt, Tanaka started to babble through the line even more. "No, no! It really wasn't me! I like Tsukki-Kun! Really, you have my word. Enno would have murdered me!" Tanaka said through the phone and Yamaguchi could tell by the inflection that Ryuu had to be telling the truth.

As Yamaguchi started to take a breath and was about to start to speak, he heard a presence approaching and Yamaguchi looked up to see a groggy Tsukishima walking to him him from his bedroom. His eyes widened a bit, and Yamaguchi gave Tsukishima a bit of a soft smile. "I'll talk to you later then, when you guys all get home," Yamaguchi murmured before he hung up the phone and just continued to look at Tsukki. "Hey, how did you sleep?" Yamaguchi asked as he looked Tsukishima up and down.

With a bit of a grumble, Tsukishima shrugged a bit. "Okay I guess. Better than I have in the last week at least. Whatever Asahi did for me last night though, it was a godsend. I feel a lot better this morning," Tsukki said as he took a seat next to Yamaguchi on the floor. "Why are we in the hallway?" he asked as he looked at Yamaguchi. He wanted to know why he was at Yamaguchi's home and why he was in the hallway with him. He could be at Oikawa's and Suga's apartment right now, but instead he was sitting in a hallway with Yamaguchi. The world liked to play games with people, Tsukishima figured.

Yamaguchi took a moment, but he finally answered in a vague way. "Oh, uh... Well, I had to make a call and I didn't want to wake you. And then you came and joined me," Yamaguchi said with an awkward laugh. "Are you hungry? We have food for breakfast if you'd like," he said as he pushed himself up to stand and he offered a hand to Tsukishima, who took the offer.

As Tsukishima stood up, he was standing closely to Yamaguchi. It was close enough that he would have liked to reach out and put his hands on Yamaguchi. Sure, he had done it while dancing so many times, but that was different to Tsukishima. The way he wanted to touch Yamaguchi right now was in a way that caused his heart to flutter uncomfortably in his chest and it caused Tsukishima to long for more from the shorter male. His dream began to haunt him. "I'm okay on food, unless... Asahi thinks I should eat and take more medicine, then I will eat a little," Tsukishima said.

That was when Yamaguchi pulled away and started to walk towards the stairs. "Come on, I'll text him and ask if he wants you to take more this morning. It might be only once a day you can take it, so you might have to wait until tonight if you're still sore," Yamaguchi said.

Following after Yamaguchi, Tsukishima made sure that he had his phone with him and he started to climb down the stairs. The house was definitely quiet that morning, which was odd, since there were so many boys living in this house. Tsukishima didn't think that they could all possibly be out already. But then again, Tsukki didn't really know how Yamaguchi's household worked. "Oh, hey, it is the start of our break weekend, right?" Tsukishima asked, hoping to god that it was. If it wasn't, they were both already late to class.

With a nod, Yamaguchi gave Tsukishima an awkward smile. "Yeah, I was scared that it wasn't, but it definitely is. That's why I let you sleep in," Yamaguchi said as he went to the fridge to open it up and find something to grab to eat. Tsukishima grimaced at the idea of having to eat again, just because he knew he would have to eat again to take those pain medications. "Want a yogurt? Bowl of cereal? Maybe... Oh, those are bad. Never mind," Yamaguchi said as he pulled some form of fruit container out of the fridge and went to put it in the garbage.

As Tsukishima thought, he had to think about what was likely to fill him enough to take the medication. "Uh... Maybe just a yogurt," Tsukishima said a bit quietly as he reached for his own phone. He saw he had a notification from Oikawa, but he decided to ignore it for the time being. He didn't need his morning to be more stressful than it already was, and he had a feeling that Oikawa would cause it to become stressful.

When Yamaguchi returned to Tsukishima, he handed Tsukishima a yogurt and a spoon before he returned to the fridge and he started to look for something else to have. Resigning to the fact that he would probably do a yogurt regardless, he took one out of the fridge and decided to return to sit next to Tsukishima as he started to open his yogurt. "I usually can't stand this Greek yogurt shit, but I guess it's supposed to be good for you," Yamaguchi said with a shrug as he looked at Tsukishima.

It wasn't that Tsukishima didn't like yogurt, and it wasn't even that he cared that he was eating in front of Yamaguchi. It was just the fact that he was eating again, before twelve hours had even expired. He really didn't care for eating more than once in a twenty-four hour time span, but he would clearly have to do so if he wanted Yamaguchi to get off his case and if he didn't want to worry Yamaguchi further. "I don't mind it, I guess. Why do you have it in your fridge if you don't like it? Do the other boys eat it?" Tsukishima said as he stirred up the yogurt with a spoon and he looked at it, wondering if he could really force himself to eat this.

Letting out a bit of a laugh, Yamaguchi took a bite after he laughed. Then he swallowed before he started to speak again. "Really, it's only Enno the eats this shit. He forces it on us sometimes though. He really likes to take care of us all and makes sure that we are taking care of ourselves. So he'll be happy to know that we ate yogurt for breakfast, instead of a bowl of cereal," Yamaguchi said with a grin.

Finally admitting defeat to himself, Tsukishima took a bite of the yogurt in his hand. It was cherry flavored and it really wasn't that terrible, so he took another bite after swirling his yogurt around in his mouth just a little more. "So, where is everyone else?" Tsukishima asked as he looked around the empty house.

Yamaguchi just gave Tsukishima a shrug as though this was a normal occurrence. It definitely was something that Tsukishima didn't think he could get used to. He was never used to being home alone in the morning. If he was, he was sure that Oikawa would go insane through text messages to make Tsukishima eat and get up to do his morning exercises. "Enno is at work, same with Asahi and Noya likes to bother him at work most days. Who knows what Ryuu and Daichi are doing," he said, as though this really was a normal thing to happen.

This would definitely take some getting used to for Tsukishima, had he been in this situation. "So this is normal for you? Do you usually wake up alone?" Tsukishima inquired, taking yet another bite of his yogurt. He was sure he would finish it sometime soon, which would be a miracle and a half for the boy. He normally didn't finish anything he had for breakfast unless Oikawa was watching him. Even then, he didn't finish it half the time he was meant to.

That was when Yamaguchi nodded. "Yeah, it's a pretty common thing for me to wake up alone. Or well, I'm either alone in the morning because I'm up earlier than almost everyone else to go to class, or I'm up alone because everyone is already out of the house," Yamaguchi said.

A comfortable silence settled over the two boys. It seemed as though Yamaguchi had something on his mind, as he was continuously checking his phone and he was sighing quietly to himself every so often. That was when Tsukishima was reminded of the text messages that Oikawa had sent him that morning. Groaning a bit, Tsukishima started to pull out his phone and he looked at the messages Oikawa had sent him.

**Shittykawa (8:21 AM)**  
_You need to call me._

**Shittykawa (8:34 AM)**  
_Tsukki Chan this is serious. Call me. Or just get to the apartment ASAP_

**Shittykawa (8:38 AM)**  
_I hope you're okay, but I really need to talk to you. You have to be there... Tsukki Chan!_

It was currently 8:45 AM and all of those text messages confused Tsukishima. What was so important that Tsukishima had to call Oikawa this early? Sure, they were all used to being up this early for school and they were all probably going to be up this early regardless, but what was Oikawa going on about that needed a phone call? That was something that Tsukki really didn't want to deal with this early in the morning. He was sure that Yamaguchi didn't want to hear a squealing Oikawa through the phone either. 

But it seemed as though Tsukishima wasn't going to be given a choice. Looking over at Yamaguchi, he was honestly just thankful that he had Yamaguchi's friendship right now, Sure, he couldn't stand the boy just a few hours ago when he forced Tsukki to come home with him and kind of talked Tsukishima into sleeping at his house, but he was glad that Yamaguchi was there to take care of him. That was what dance partners were for, right?

Tsukishima went to take another bite of his yogurt until he realized that he had actually finished his yogurt. It wasn't a very big serving and it really wasn't something that he needed to be that super proud of, but he was just glad that he had finished some type of food in front of Yamaguchi. He didn't need his dance partner to start getting suspicious.

With a breath and as he sat there, Tsukishima started to close his eyes and he leaned his head back. He was still in pain, he was still rather uncomfortable, but none of this is as bad as it was yesterday. Tsukishima was counting his blessings at the time. "I have to call Oikawa, I guess he needs to talk to me about something important."

Right then, Tsukishima's phone buzzed with another notification and it caused Tsukishima him to look down to see what it was.

It was a surprise that Suga had gotten roped into messaging Tsukishima too, because that was who the next message was from.

**Suga (8:48 AM)**  
_Tsukki-Kun, please respond to me or Oikawa. This really is important. I wouldn't be texting you if it wasn't important. Something happened and we really need to talk to you._

When seeing that message, Tsukishima rose an eyebrow and just continued to stare at his phone. This was starting to get worrisome, so maybe he really should respond to Oikawa, or at least Suga. There was no way that Suga would get roped into texting Tsukki if it wasn't something that actually needed attention. "I have to call Suga, excuse me..." Tsukishima murmured as he stood up and he walked towards the stairs.

Dialing Suga's number into his phone, he took a breath and held up the ringing device to his ear.

"Tsukki-Kun! Good, you're there. Oh lord, you desperately need to come home. Oikawa is going to have a meltdown," Sugawara said in a bit of a whirl.

Thinking for a moment, Tsukishima wondered what in the world could be this important. "I'm trying to calm him down, but he is going on a rampage right now. Please come to the apartment," Suga said. He then heard Suga start to yell at Oikawa, and that definitely told Tsukki that there was something more than wrong.

Looking back to Yamaguchi, he realized that Yamaguchi was focused on his own phone. The boy wouldn't miss him, right? "What's going on? I have to come to the apartment right now?" Tsukki asked quietly. His subconscious mind didn't want to leave Yamaguchi right then, but if it was something wrong with Oikawa, he would definitely leave right then and there.

That was when Suga sighed and Tsukishima could hear the typical Suga parenting tone in his sigh right there. "It would be best if you came here. This is definitely news that needs to be shared face to face," Suga said.

The line went quiet and even though neither boy hung up, a silence settled over the two boys for a moment. After a few moments had passed, Tsukishima sighed and broke the silence that was settled between the two of them. "Okay, I'll be there soon. I stayed the night at Yamaguchi's house. It can't be that far away, even though I don't really know where I am," Tsukki said with sigh.

"Good. We will see you soon. By the way, the news isn't good news. I just want you to be prepared," Suga said before he hung up. That caused more nerves to work their way up through Tsukishima right then. What in the world was this bad news? What was so important that it couldn't be shared over the phone?

When Tsukishima came into the living space, Yamaguchi looked up at him with a smile. "Everything okay?" Yamaguchi asked as he sat up a little and he motioned to Tsukishima's phone.

With a shake of the head, Tsukishima went towards where his bag was. "No, not really. I don't know what's going on and I tried to ask, but Suga wouldn't tell me over the phone. So I have to go back to their place," Tsukishima said as he pulled up his bag and put it over his shoulder that wasn't as sore as the other one. "Which way is the school? I can find my way to Oikawa's apartment from there," Tsukki said as he started to slip on his shoes.

That was when Yamaguchi really didn't answer what Tsukishima had asked. He didn't want to answer him right then because there were more pressing matters at hand. "You're leaving...? Tsukki, Asahi hasn't answered me back yet about if you can take another pill. Don't you want to wa-"

"Suga sounded super stressed on the phone and Oikawa has been texting me all morning. I need to know what is going on. I can deal with pain for a little while longer," Tsukki said as he reached for the door handle after he had his shoes on and made sure he had everything he needed. "So please, which way to the school?" Tsukki asked.

When Yamaguchi sighed, he came over and pulled back the blinds of a window to point out at the road. "You're going to turn down that street there, and then it's three blocks that way, take a left, and it will get you on the main road to get to the school. I hope everything is okay with Suga and Oikawa. Text me later to tell me everything is okay?" Yamaguchi said. If he were being honest to himself, he had to be feeling relief right now because he needed to yell at all of his brothers and figure out how the video of Tsukishima stripping had gotten out to the world. He had to be sure it wasn't one of them.

Nodding a bit, Tsukishima took a breath and he looked towards the door to pull it open. "Thank you for taking care of me last night. I'll see you at school on Monday," Tsukishima murmured before he walked out the door and started on his path to get to Oikawa's apartment.

The walk was rather long, and Tsukishima was in a bit too much pain to be walking all this way, but it was something he would have to do he figured. There was no other way for him to get to Oikawa's and Suga's apartment. There wasn't even a friend he could call to give him a ride and his brother still wasn't home from work. So he would just have to walk and suffer through the pain to get there.

It seemed like walking towards the school was a mistake. Sure, not many students were there right then and no classes were in session, but everyone's eyes seemed to follow Tsukki right then. What were they staring at? He was definitely not used to all of this attention. Taking a breath and just choosing to ignore their eyes, he averted his attention to just the walk he was taking right then.

Finally, he approached the apartment where Oikawa and Suga lived and he let himself in the apartment, taking off his shoes at the door and dropping his bag where he normally did. That was when Suga came closer to Tsukishima and gave him a sad look. "I'll let Oikawa tell you. He's in our room, on the phone right now," Sugawara said and he gave Tsukishima a sad look.

If that wasn't confusing enough, he sure wasn't ready to take whatever this bad news was from Oikawa. He hated all of this right now and he hated that he didn't know what was going on. "Okay..." Tsukki murmured. Did someone die? Did something bad happen to someone Oikawa knew? There were so many questions running through his head right then.

As he walked into the bedroom, Oikawa had just been finishing up his phone call and he eyed Tsukishima. That was when he hung up and he let out a soft sigh, tilting his head to Tsukishima. "Tsukki-Chan... What on earth did you do?" Oikawa asked as he motioned to the bed, inviting Tsukishima to take a seat or to lay next to him.

With a raised brow, Tsukki made a face. "What do you mean?"

"I mean... _what did you do_?"


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been two months! Oh my goodness, I am so sorry for the wait on this chapter! Before, I had the excuse of school. But now that school isn't a thing right now, I can say that I won't make you wait this long for a chapter again for the time being! Please forgive me and enjoy this emotional chapter!

There was a hint of something in Oikawa's voice right then that Tsukki desperately didn't want to figure out where it came from. This something in Oikawa's voice told him that it was possibly something very bad. What did Oikawa have to tell him so badly? And did he have to know? "I don't know what I did, so... Are you going to tell me what's going on? Or do I have to guess?" Tsukki asked as he took a seat on the bed next to Oikawa. He was trying to make light of a situation that very clearly shouldn't be taken lightly. Tsukishima didn't know that the situation shouldn't be taken lightly though, because he didn't know there was a situation to be taken. But what was wrong with being happy? Tsukishima felt really good after being at Yamaguchi's house.

There was a feeling of tension in the room, and it only seemed to grow worse when Tsukishima started to joke about the situation. Suga came to stand in the doorway and he crossed his arms, just listening in on the conversation and shaking his head when Tsukki looked his way. That look told Tsukki that he needed to stop being so sarcastic right now. Oikawa sighed and cleared his throat gently before he closed his eyes. "This is going to be so... Tsukki Kun, you aren't going to like this at all." The fact that Oikawa had used the honorific 'Kun' rather than 'Chan' told Tsukki that something was definitely very, very wrong.

Licking his lips, Tsukki felt a bit of a chill go up his spine. "Suga already told me it wasn't good news. Did something happen to you? Are you dying or something?" Tsukishima sincerely doubted that Oikawa was dying, but when Oikawa didn't respond, Tsukki was rethinking his doubt. Maybe he really was dying? He just couldn't help his mood right now, but Suga's and Oikawa's mood had been bringing him down, so he really had to try to be serious about all of this. Maybe he really shouldn't have stayed the night at Yamaguchi's house.

That was when Oikawa took a breath. "When was the last time you worked?" Oikawa asked and he turned his head to look at Tsukki. The look in his eyes was fierce, and it was a look that told Tsukki that Oikawa was ready to throw down or fight. It was a good look to have in a friend, especially if Oikawa was going to fight for him. But it was a look that brought curiosity to Tsukishima. What was Oikawa so angry about?

Thinking about Oikawa's question, his mind was brought back to the night that Yamaguchi and his friends came to watch him strip at work. It was actually a fun night, and it brought a smile to his face to remember how that night started. He got to see Yamaguchi dance with his friends and it gave him more respect for hip hop dancing. But then, he thought about how that night ended and he cringed a bit, reminding himself that Oikawa already knew all about his father. Yes, his father had beat him terribly that night, but the time before that moment was actually very good. "It... was... the night before I missed all of that school because of my injuries," Tsukki said softly, looking away. He could feel the disappointment in Oikawa right then, but he knew that Oikawa wasn't going to bring up the injuries.

With a sigh, Oikawa twirled the phone in his hand. "I think this might be from that night. Okay... well, is there anyone you've pissed off a lot lately? Or anyone who has an agenda against you?" Oikawa kept his eyes on Tsukishima, the look still fierce. He was trying to figure this out and Tsukishima wished he could help him, but he had no idea where any of this was going.

What was with all of the questions? Tsukishima made a face and he thought for a moment. "I mean, no one particularly likes me in my classes, besides Kuroo and Yamaguchi. Yamaguchi wouldn't do anything I don't think, and even if Kuroo wanted to get back at you for something, he wouldn't go through me. But... I don't think anyone would have anything too much against me? Maybe the one guy that I told didn't belong in the ballet class he was in," Tsukishima said in thought, trying to think about anyone that could possibly have anything against him. "Maybe... I don't know, why?"

Finally, Oikawa pulled up something on his phone. It was a video and he handed the phone to Tsukishima. "This is why I'm so concerned," Oikawa said when he pressed play. The sound in is voice had turned soft and caring, and it was such an odd quality to hear in Oikawa. Sure, Tsukki knew that Oikawa cared. But he just didn't generally get treated like this with Oikawa. It was treatment usually saved for Suga.

Eventually though, Tsukishima knew he would have to turn his attention to the phone. The video was a little shaky at first, and it wasn't exactly in focus. Tsukishima couldn't make out what was going on, until it finally came into focus. Instantly, Tsukishima knew where it was taken. It was a shot of the inside of the Black Cat. Of course he knew where it was, because he had worked there for quite a few months now. It was also a shot of the stage, where everything happened, and Tsukishima knew right away that this person had broken the rules of the club. No one was allowed to take videos or pictures. Whoever had taken this video was obviously very discrete about what they were doing. The only time that the club allowed videos or pictures was when a bachelor or bachelorette party was being thrown, and the people on stage weren't dancers at the club.

But that was when something had moved and someone had walked out onto the stage. Tsukishima's jaw dropped. "No..." he whispered as he brought a hand up to his jaw, shaking his head a little. His eyes were still glued to the video though, as though it were impossible to take his eyes off it it. "Oikawa, where did... where did this come from?" Tsukki asked, hoping like crazy that Oikawa had gotten into the club to take a video of him stripping. But that was when he shot the idea down because Oikawa wouldn't break the rules like that. He respected the club way too much and Oikawa knew that Tsukishima would probably kill him in a literal sense if he had done something like this.

That was what the video was, though. It was a video of Tsukishima stripping in his club, and Tsukki felt the embarrassment start to make its way through him. His cheeks went white, but they were warm as well. This video was going to be his end. He would never be able to show his face again.

Oikawa groaned. "Tsukki Kun, it's all over social media. It was put up on one of those school messaging boards, and it got onto instagram, and then twitter... It is seriously everywhere. The person that posted it originally was anonymous... I've been on the phone, trying to figure out who it could have possibly been, but there isn't a trace as far as I can see," Oikawa said. He tried to take the phone from Tsukki's grasp, but Tsukki wouldn't let go. He was scouring the video to see what else could give a clue as to when this was, or who could have possibly been there to take the video.

The shot wasn't a very close one, so Tsukishima had to guess that the person was back pretty far. Tsukki probably wouldn't have made a glance that way that night anyway. He was all focused on his work on stage usually. Although, that brought a thought to his mind. The only night that he wasn't completely focused on his stripping and dancing and took multiple glances out to the crowd was the night...

That was when he saw it. It was the move that he had done specifically for the night that Yamaguchi and his friends were there. It was that night. So was it possible that one of those boys had taken the video? He didn't think that Yamaguchi would stoop so low, but who else could have possibly done this? Tsukishima couldn't see anyone else who might want to do this to him, so it had to be someone from that family.

Rage started to work its way into Tsukishima's system and he thrust the phone back into Oikawa's hand. All happiness that had been caused due to staying the night at Yamaguchi's house had done a complete turn around and was now anger. Oikawa fumbled for a moment when Tsukishima stood up and he started to stalk out of the room. Tsukki knew that it had to be one of those boys. Maybe it was Yamaguchi himself. "Wait, Tsukki! Wait, just... sit back down," Suga said as he put his hands up to try to block the way from the door. Suga put his hands on Tsukishima's shoulders for just a moment before Tsukishima shoved Suga off of him and he actually pushed Suga a bit.

Unfortunately, Tsukishima wasn't in the mood to be calmed by Suga at the moment. He knew that Suga had an act for it and was really good at calming people down, but there was no reason for Tsukishima to calm down right now. He had every single right to be upset and pissed off about this video that seemed to be circulating around the internet in their community.

Pushing passed Suga, Tsukishima went straight to his bedroom and he slammed the door behind him, not having a care in the world at the moment other than trying to figure out who could have possibly been behind this. Had the situation been different, he would have felt bad for pushing Sugawara. He would have taken the time to actually listen to the older couple that cared so deeply about him.

Unfortunately, the situation wasn't different.

\---

Yamaguchi's blood was boiling right now, and honestly, he couldn't care less if any of his family wanted to be somewhere else or had other things to be doing, like work. As soon as Tsukishima left, Yamaguchi watched him to make sure he was far enough from the apartment before he locked the door and he turned to the living room. His mind was already too preoccupied to remember that everyone had left for the day. He looked around the house and stared ahead, trying to figure out his first move. He realized then that the apartment was far too quiet and nobody was bound to be home.

Before his first move though, whatever he decided that move might be, was to let out a very long, very emotion-filled groaning yell that was pent up inside of him. This entire situation caused him to want to punch things, to break things. He needed to get his emotions out.

His first actual move was going to be to text Tanaka to tell him to get his ass home, and to make his boyfriend come home too. He would also message Noya and Asahi, as well as Daichi, to tell them all to get home as fast as they possibly could. He counted this as an emergency, so he honestly didn't see the harm in calling a family meeting for this.

Family meetings meant that everyone had to be there and everyone had to drop what they were doing, unless it was actually work, in order to be at the meeting. It was just the rule, and they all did their best to follow this rule, so Yamaguchi could expect them all to be home once he sent a message to their family group chat.

**Yams (9:43 AM)**  
_I'm calling a family meeting. Get home as soon as you possibly can. All of you._

Generally, Yamaguchi wasn't one to do this. He hasn't ever once called a family meeting, and his family knew that he was never one to demand something like this. But it was a very serious matter, so he was going to call a family meeting and force his family to make it home, regardless of what they were out doing. Usually family meetings were called when someone was in trouble, or something terrible had happened at home. But this was a very different situation and Yamaguchi had the right to call this meeting, he felt.

**Enno (9:44 AM)**  
_Are you ok? I'm not out of work for another two hours. I'll try to get out early if I can._

**Yams (9:44 AM)**  
_I'm physically okay, just need to talk to you all about something very important and it can't wait much longer._

**Daichi (9:46 AM)**  
_I'll be back in a half hour. I got out of work early. I opened and they don't need me, so I can be back soon. Ryuu? Noya? Asahi?_

**Noya (9:47 AM)**  
_Asahi is at work and won't be out until four. Maybe he can get an early lunch break. I can be back before then though if you need._

Yamaguchi stared at the phone and he watched as his family talked about how and when they were going to get back home. He didn't care how they got back, but the sooner the better. Yamaguchi was far too frustrated to talk about this situation over text messages, so he wasn't going to bother telling them anything in person.

**Ryuu (9:54 AM)**  
_Yams, if it's what I think it is, I already told you that Enno and I weren't responsible. Saeko would kill me too, so I have double the reason not to have done this. I can be home soon though. I'm not busy._

Throwing himself on the couch, Yamaguchi couldn't imagine that Tsukki would never find out about this. He couldn't imagine that Tsukki hasn't seen the video yet, and he has to know it was the night that he and his family had come to see the show. Tsukki was never going to trust him again. After first drugging him, and now this, it would be a miracle if Tsukishima even spoke to him now.

It had only been a few hours of Yamaguchi staring at his phone until random family members started walking in and tried to ask him what was wrong and why he called this meeting, but Yamaguchi sat stone-faced on the couch, only mumbling that the entire family had to be home before he would say what was wrong. That was usually how it happened, because the person that called the meeting didn't want to have to explain things more than once if necessary.

Finally, once Noya and Asahi walked through the door and everyone was back home, Yamaguchi stood from the couch and he cleared his throat. Not everyone was in the living room, so they all needed to get there. "Everyone in the living room," he yelled harshly, proving to them all just how angry he was about all of this. It didn't take more yelling for the family to all pile into the living room, because they knew that when Yamaguchi rose his voice, he meant business. Yamaguchi never yelled like this.

As they sat and stood around the room, Yamaguchi took a breath and he looked at Tanaka, narrowing his eyes. "Has Tanaka shown you all the video of Tsukishima yet?" he asked in a soft voice, but the anger was just behind the tonee and everyone could hear it. That voice told everyone even further just how serious of a situation it had to be.

Daichi rose an eyebrow. "Uh... no? What video?" he asked as he looked at Tanaka. That was when Tanaka sighed and he pulled out his phone, hopefully going to send the video to Daichi. "Send it to all of us, I guess," Daichi murmured.

That was when Noya and Asahi pulled out their phones too, going to watch the video on their separate devices. Ennoshita was dating Tanaka, so there was no way that he hadn't seen it yet. "Tadashi, there's no way that this was any of us," Enno said, giving Yamaguchi a saddened look. From that response, and the fact that he hadn't moved to take out his phone to watch, Yamaguchi knew that Tanaka had shown him already.

"Yeah, this couldn't have been us! Why would I want to get my sister in trouble? She would get in trouble because she's related to me and knows us, so if any of us had posted the video, it wouldn't have been good for her," Tanaka said.

There was a bit of silence and Asahi narrowed his gaze. "I don't remember this dance... I'm not saying that I remember them each specifically, but... I definitely don't remember Tsukishima wearing this. Are you sure this was a night we were there?" Asahi asked. He stopped the video and shifted on the couch. Noya put himself on Asahi's lap and got comfortable there, still watching his phone.

Yamaguchi sighed. "I am sure it was a night we were there. He wore that outfit for his last performance," Yamaguchi mumbled as he started to wring his hands, feeling the tension in his jaw too.

"Yams, I think Asahi and I were gone by this point, because I don't remember this dance either," Noya said as he looked at Asahi and then back at Yamaguchi. "Remember, we went home before the rest of you did? I'm not trying to... create excuses for myself and Asahi, but we just weren't there." Noya put his phone back in his jacket pocket.

Ennoshita was watching the video over Daichi's shoulder, who was narrowing his eyes at the screen. Apparently, he seemed to be very frustrated too, which Yamaguchi was thankful for, but it wasn't enough to ease Yamaguchi's anger at this entire situation. It had to be one of them that posted it, didn't it? Not that Yamaguchi liked to accuse his family, but what other explanation was there? "Yams... Look at the distance of the video. Other than Asahi and Noya leaving early, and Tanaka getting up to use the bathroom once, which is all the way to the right of the building and not the back, Daichi and I didn't get up once before we left with you and Tsukki. We were all closer to the stage than this..." he said.

With a sigh, Yamaguchi took his phone back out of his pocket. Taking the time to actually watch the video again, Yamaguchi looked at how far away the video was taken from the stage. "It couldn't have been us, Yams. None of us would have been stupid enough to do this to you, and Enno is right. We were closer to the stage. Close enough to toss cash on the walkway. And... I think I might have actually seen your head at one point. So this couldn't have been any of us," Daichi said as he stopped his own video and settled his hands down on his lap.

Why hadn't Yamaguchi thought rationally about this? If he had really taken the time to actually think about this whole situation, he would have known that his family wouldn't do anything like this to hurt him. They all claimed to like Tsukishima, so why would they want to hurt him like this and make him the laughing stock of the school? Why would they want to sabotage his friendship with his dance partner? 

Letting out a sigh and then a groan after, Yamaguchi threaded his hands into his hair and he shook his head. "I'm sorry guys, I'm just worried... How did this happen? Who got in to take the video?" he asked, his rage turning into desperation and frustration.

When Daichi stood up and walked closer to Yamaguchi, he wrapped the boy up in his arms and held him for a moment. "I don't know, Yams. I don't know who could have done this, and I'm sorry to Tsukishima that this happened, but it wasn't us," Daichi said before he pulled away.

That was when Noya had stood from Asahi's lap and Asahi stood up. "I have to go back to work. I have to eat before I go back on, so I'll see you guys later. Sorry about this, Yams. It really sucks though. Apologize to Tsukishima for us? Oh, and make sure he's keeping up with ice and heat on his shoulder."

Nodding, Yamaguchi sighed and waved him off. Noya excused himself too, going to go see his fiance off to work.

It seemed as though nothing could help this situation. But there was one thing for certain. Whoever posted this video had a very specific vendetta against Tsukki. There wasn't a video of anyone else, and they knew that Tsukishima had gone to the academy, so they posted it to the school forums first. This situation was very uncomfortable and Yamaguchi's chest hurt from all the emotion he was feeling inside it and holding back.

Now, if only he could cure the anxiety of having to face Tsukishima. He knew they still had time off from school, but there was no way that talking to Tsukishima could wait. "Does he know yet?" Ennoshita asked.

"If anyone deserves to know about this video, it's Tsukki Kun," Tanaka said as he agreed with Ennoshita's question.

Shrugging, Yamaguchi took a seat in the lounge chair and he pulled out his phone to start to text Tsukishima. This was going to be a very hard conversation.

\---

Angry tears had run their way down Tsukishima's cheeks as he laid in bed. Oikawa and Suga had tried to get into the room to talk to him, but there was no way that Tsukki was going to let anyone in right now. The door was locked, he was lying in bed, and he was feeling sicker than ever. He had wanted to go make himself vomit. Not that anything was likely to come up other than some bile, but he wanted to due to how he was feeling. How was any of this even remotely fair to him?

Who would even have the nerve to do this? It was frustrating to think that this was the night that he had let people come watch him, and he let others in to see something so raw about himself.

This was exactly why he should have never trusted people.

Eventually, Tsukishima knew he would have to leave the room. Business called, after all. When he opened the door, the apartment became silent for but a moment before Oikawa and Suga were swooping to his side, to try to make him feel better and ease his suffering mind.

He pushed beyond them both to go to the bathroom, relieved himself, and then he went to the couch, refusing to look at either of them. "I'm not mad at either of you. I just don't want to be touched or comforted right now. Just leave me be," Tsukishima mumbled, keeping his eyes on his own phone and trying to ignore what was going on around him currently. He knew that Oikawa and Suga were talking about him and his situation at the table, trying to keep their voices down so he couldn't hear them. But he certainly could.

When Tsukishima's phone buzzed, he thought his world was coming to an end. Or he thought that maybe it was about to come to an end very soon.

**Yamaguchi (1:43 PM)**  
_Hey, can we talk? There's some things you need to know._

As Tsukishima contemplated his options, it felt as though the weight of the world was completely on his shoulders right now. Everything felt as though it was resting in his hands. But right now, he didn't want everything to be resting in his hands. He didn't want the world to know that he was a stripper, he didn't want the world to know what he did for his money. He just didn't know what to do about any of this.

Right now, Tsukishima did not want to be himself.

His options were simple. He had three of them, even though the first one was something he wasn't sure he could manage to do. But one, he could go listen to Yamaguchi and just talk about this whole thing rationally. Deep back in his subconscious mind, he knew that Yamaguchi and his family couldn't responsible for this.

Two, he could completely ignore Yamaguchi and request for a different dance partner so he didn't have to speak to the boy again. That seemed like a decent option if he were being honest.

Finally, his third option was to completely go off on Yamaguchi and scream at him, tell him exactly how he felt about this entire situation.

As he stood up to leave, he grabbed his jacket, shoved his shoes on his feet, and left his backpack on the floor, deciding it would be best to go to Yamaguchi and talk to him about all of this. If Suga or Oikawa had said anything to him before he left, he hadn't heard it. Honestly, he didn't care about anything else right now.

To be fair, he didn't know whether or not he was going to choose option one or option three, but things could go either way right now. All he knew was that he had to talk to Yamaguchi.

That was when he realized he hadn't messaged Yamaguchi to come talk to him, so he had to set a meeting place.

**Me (1:46 PM)**  
_Meet me at the campus dining hall._

He didn't know whether or not Yamaguchi was able to get there. He didn't know if Yamaguchi wanted to talk in person or would rather just text this whole thing out. But Tsukishima just didn't care. This was something that needed to be spoken about in person, not through text messaging or the phone. It had to be done face to face.

So that was how Tsukishima was going to do it.

It was maybe a half hour of Tsukishima just sitting outside of the campus dining hall, watching as random students and classmates of his entered and exited the building. He wouldn't possibly miss Yamaguchi coming to the dining hall, because there was only one entrance way into the building. He watched his phone to make sure that Yamaguchi hadn't messaged him to say that he couldn't be there, but that message never came.

Maybe, Tsukishima would be best to think about what he wanted to say before Yamaguchi got there. But there was no time.

Finally, there was a head of familiar dark hair approaching, and Tsukishima stood from the bench that he was sitting on. Tsukishima looked Yamaguchi over, noting that the boy looked very upset already. Was he upset about the video? Was he upset because he knew what this conversation was going to be about already? If he were being honest, Tsukishima didn't know. He also didn't particularly care.

Taking a breath, Yamaguchi stood a few feet away from Tsukishima, and he wouldn't quite meet his eyes. "Can we take this somewhere else? I don't want to make a scene in front of everyone, even though that's what we do in class... we dance for an audience, I just... would rather do this somewhere else," Yamaguchi said.

Shaking his head, Tsukishima moved a little closer. His eyes were narrowed and locked onto Yamaguchi's face, noting just how sad the boy looked. "I take it you know? I take it we are on the same page here?" Tsukishima asked in a mutter of a voice.

That was when Yamaguchi nodded. "Yeah, I... Want you to talk about it first because I want you to say anything you want to say. I'm not going to say anything in defense yet, so please... say anything you want to. I want you to get it all out."

Silence surrounded the boys. Even though there was still commotion going on from the other students (it was kind of precarious that they were here, as there was no school today or tomorrow), it seemed as though it were just Tsukishima and Yamaguchi standing there with no other noises.

It took a moment for Tsukishima to really grasp the concept of what was going on around him. He wanted to let Yamaguchi speak first, so he could determine whether or not he needed to get angry at Yamaguchi. He wanted to know how he was meant to feel about this situation, not be told that he had to feel things before he had an explanation, something to really dissect and examine. Sure, he knew that he was pissed off and deserved to be, but he wanted Yamaguchi to try to explain himself beforehand.

If this was the way that it had to happen though, there was really no other choice. Tsukishima knew which option he had to take now.

"I trusted you."

The silence fell over the boys again. Yamaguchi opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. It was as if all of the oxygen was taken from his lungs. He closed it again to regain himself before he opened his mouth to actually say something this time.

"Tsukki... you still can trust me, it wasn't me or my family that posted-"

"I trusted you, and then _this_ happens. I let you in, close enough to fuck around with things, trusted you enough to not hurt me, and then look what happened. _I got hurt._ ," Tsukishima said. His voice didn't exactly raise in volume, but there was far more emotion behind his tone now and it told Yamaguchi that this video had clearly hurt the boy far more than just a little.

Taking a little pause, Yamaguchi closed his eyes and willed the tears back. This was hard. This was a conversation he never wanted to have. How had this even happened? If he and his family hadn't gone to see Tsukishima strip that night, this would have never happened. Sure, maybe a video still would have gotten out, but Yamaguchi wouldn't be defending himself against Tsukki right now. He would be right with Tsukishima, trying to figure out who had posted this heinous video to try to destroy Tsukishima's reputation.

"Tsukki... I didn't do this. My family didn't do this... we would never do anything like this, please..." Yamaguchi said as he opened his eyes to look at Tsukishima.

There was a cold and harsh wind that fell over the two boys right then and it caused Yamaguchi to shiver. It reminded them that they weren't inside. It reminded them that there were things out of their control sometimes, but Tsukishima didn't see it that way. "I should have never trusted you," Tsukishima said in a softer voice. His expression was harsh with eyes narrowed, lip pressed in a thin, disapproving line, and cheeks very white to show Yamaguchi just how much of an affect this was really having on him.

Those words sunk into Yamaguchi like a hot knife through butter. They were words that would stick with Yamaguchi for probably the rest of his life. Yamaguchi wanted to say more, he wanted to defend his family and make Tsukishima understand that this was definitely not his fault. They just happened to be there the night that this video was recorded. They just happened to be there, but it didn't mean that they were at fault.

As Tsukishima stormed off to leave, Yamaguchi felt a hot tear streaming down his cheek as he watched Tsukishima go, presumably to go back to Oikawa's and Suga's apartment. He felt so bad and he felt like this was possibly a wound that would never heal properly.

"Sorry, Tsukki..." Yamaguchi whispered quietly after the boy. He stood there for a while after, his heart clenching in pain after what had happened. This situation was not one he had ever imagined being in. He would have never wanted to hurt Tsukki like this, not after knowing the boy well enough and becoming closer as dance partners.

It was probably five minutes that Yamaguchi had stood there, just mulling over everything that had happened. Finally, someone had reached out to touch him, and Yamaguchi flinched so hard that he nearly fell over. "Tadashi? I didn't expect you to be here! How are you, babe?" the voice said.

That was when Yamaguchi realized who it was. It was Yachi, and she had a curious look on her face. Maybe her look was curious about why Yamaguchi had tears in his eyes. Maybe Yamaguchi just looked like a ghost right now. Either way, he couldn't imagine that his tear-stained cheeks were very attractive. "I'm... not sure, to be honest," he murmured as he straightened back up, answering her question about how he was doing.

When Yachi took his hand, he nearly pulled it away, but he then reminded himself that Yachi was his girlfriend. It was normal for girlfriends to hold their boyfriend's hand. Why was this so difficult around her? It hadn't quite sank in yet that it was difficult because Tsukishima didn't like Yachi, and maybe it never would sink in. "I saw you talking to your dance partner. How... is he?" she asked, tentatively asking. There was a hint of something not so pure behind her voice, but Yamaguchi was too distracted to focus on that small detail.

With a breath, Yamaguchi shrugged as he took a seat on the bench that Tsukki had been sitting on. "He's not... the best. He and I had a bit of a fight. Hopefully things will cool down soon, because we are dance partners after all," Yamaguchi said. Yachi had moved to come and sit with Yamaguchi, still holding onto his hand.

She squeezed his hand and gave him a saddened look. "Was the fight about... the video that's been going around?"

A chill was sent up Yamaguchi's spine. Once again, there was something not so innocent behind her voice that Yamaguchi couldn't place with his mind being as distracted as it was. But it was not a tone with pure intentions. "So you know about that, huh? How long before the whole school knows, do you think?" Yamaguchi asked and he looked at Yachi with questioning eyes.

That was when Yachi shrugged. She didn't seem to care about how long it would take for the video to be seen by every student, but Yamaguchi certainly cared. "I don't know, but honestly, if I were you, I might ask to have a different dance partner. I mean... he's a stripper, so who knows what kind of diseases you can pick up while dancing with-"

"He's a stripper, not a prostitute. He doesn't have sex for money, so picking up something from him wouldn't be too easy. He hardly touches any of the clients, unless they pay for him and have him go to a VIP room. Even then, what he does is relatively safe," Yamaguchi murmured, getting defensive over his dance partner, even though his dance partner didn't seem to like him very much right now.

A flash of something had been behind Yachi's eyes for a moment before her eyes turned to worry. Yamaguchi pulled his hand away from her, because he honestly didn't know how much more he could handle from her. "How do you know what he does in those rooms? He could have just lied about not having sex with the clients. Or maybe he lets them take him home so he can have sex in private. He just doesn't seem clean to me, now that I know what he does for a living," Yachi had said. She put her hands up as if to try to defend herself. "I'm not judging, I'm just saying that I wouldn't trust him any longer.

Yamaguchi moved to stand, pulling away from any touch that Yachi had tried to give, every move she tried to make was turned down. "I know because he's told me. He's never been untrustworthy before and I've done nothing to make him trust me, but he doesn't really have a reason to lie to me."

"What about when you drugged him? Maybe he's lying to protect himself?" Yachi said, trying to make an argument here that she just wasn't going to win. Yamaguchi was far too protective over Kei, and Yachi would just have to learn that.

Taking a breath and starting to walk, he noted that she started to follow him. "No, he isn't... I trust him though, so you'll just have to get over me trusting him, okay?" Yamaguchi said in a harsh voice. "I care about him. The thing is... I was at that show, I was watching him strip that night. Not because I like him, but because I am his friend and wanted to show my support. He has had such a difficult life, and for this video to get out... well, it's just unforgivable. He blames me because it was the night that I was there," Yamaguchi said. "Before you ask, yes. It was the night my family and I were with him. I made up something so it didn't seem like we were going to watch his show."

It wouldn't take long for Yamaguchi if he wanted to lose Yachi on foot, but he wasn't mad with her, he was just frustrated with her position on this whole thing. "Oh, so... he thinks you're the one that posted the video? Maybe you will have to find a new dance partner, because he might not trust you again after this," Yachi had said in observation, running a hand through her short, blonde hair as she walked next to Yamaguchi.

That was when a groan escaped Yamaguchi's lips. "Just... don't, okay? I don't want a new partner and I will do everything I can to keep my partnership with him. Just... don't try to diminish this any further and leave it be, okay? I don't want to talk about this anymore," Yamaguchi said. He had started his walk back home, wondering what way Tsukishima had taken to get back home or if he was already back by now. His mind was almost constantly preoccupied with Tsukishima. He hated as well as loved it at the same time. He hated it because he felt that his mind should be preoccupied with Yachi. He loved it because Tsukishima kind of completed him in ways that Yachi just couldn't.

There was a momentary silence between the two, and they just walked, until Yachi broke the quiet air between them. "Can I come over? I want to beat Ryuu in his dumb video game again," Yachi said as she let out a bit of a laugh.

If only Yamaguchi knew exactly what was going on, he would have told Yachi to get lost and to never speak to him again. But nobody knew what was going on, so Yamaguchi agreed to let her come over.

Tsukishima was closer to figuring out the puzzle than anyone had realized, but he was still a ways away from figuring it all out yet.

Nothing made sense anymore, and Tsukishima hated his life more than anything right now. Sure, when his classmates had passed him, none of them had seemed too particularly disgusted by him. But maybe it was just because they hadn't seen the video yet.

It wouldn't take much longer for the entire school to see it and for Tsukishima to get text after text about why he did it, how often he danced, and where he got his 'sick moves' from. He ignored all of those messages as he bent over a toilet in one of the classroom buildings and started to cry his eyes out after he finished puking out his guts.

Why couldn't life just be easier?


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I appreciate you all for sticking with this fic. If I'm being honest, this one is my favorite of the ones I am writing right now. So thank you all for reading this and... just know that we are getting to some really good stuff. This chapter is very dramatic.

Weeks had progressed. The season had changed outside the window. Things were moving very quickly for nearly every single university student there was in the town. There wasn't enough time to get ready for midterm tests and projects. There wasn't enough time to relax and take a breather, because everything was coming up oh so very quickly.

School was happening so quickly, as was life for the students at the art's academy. Yamaguchi and Yachi were spending nearly every waking moment together when they weren't in classes. It may have had to do with the event that had unfolded just weeks prior, with the video and then Tsukishima no longer talking to Yamaguchi, but the two were always together. Yamaguchi just seemed to need a bit of a distraction lately from the things happening in the other areas of his life. It wasn't that Yamaguchi wanted to spend every single moment with Yachi, but with everything else happening, there was really just no option.

She was there for everything it seemed, too. She was there for when he was doing homework, she was there when he had dance rehearsals with his brothers, and she was there for any down time that Yamaguchi had. It was a bit suffocating, but it was better than being alone and thinking about Tsukishima and the video. He hated thinking about Tsukishima and knowing that something had been messed up. They had just started to become closer as friends. How did this happen?

Regardless, time seemed to be moving too quickly for Yamaguchi and he was hardly seeing Tsukishima at all, which was bad, saying they were dance partners.

Yet, time wasn't moving fast enough for one student in particular. Tsukishima was sitting in the bedroom he had at Oikawa's and Suga's place, trying to go through his homework assignment just a little slower. He needed something to distract himself, just like Yamaguchi did, from not dancing. Currently, Tsukishima was trying to focus on something other than his homework, because if he kept staring at it, he would overthink it and get things wrong because he was overdoing his answers. It seemed like nothing would work to distract him, but all he could really do was try at this rate.

While he and Yamaguchi weren't talking, Oikawa had taken to taking care of him. It wasn't that Tsukishima didn't appreciate everything the boy was doing, but Tsukishima wanted to be left alone. If he went to his parent's house though, he wouldn't be left alone at all and he would be picked apart by his mother, and things wouldn't have been good.

Oikawa was trying so hard to take care of Tsukishima, and Tsukki thought it was kind of comical to watch him try. It kind of made him think that Oikawa would make a good dad someday. Tsukishima already knew that Suga would make a great father, but now he was starting to think that Oikawa would make a great dad too. Tsukishima was forced to eat, he was forced to go help them with their school assignments after hours and spend time in the studios or one of the other classroom buildings with computer. Oikawa forced Tsukishima to watch movies with them, and he of course put Tsukishima to bed at a decent hour. Whether he slept or not was his choice, but it was funny to watch Oikawa try so hard at this.

The last thing that Tsukishima wanted was to think about the dance he was meant to perform with his dance partner, the one that had betrayed his trust and created a laughing stock out of him. He was so much of a laughing subject right now at the school that he couldn't stick around campus to practice his dances, he couldn't stay to ask questions or impress his teachers with extra work. No, he couldn't stay for any reason because the moment he caught the eye of one of his fellow classmates, they would start to snicker or try to replicate a move of his that they saw during the video of him stripping. So it was why he appreciated Oikawa and Suga taking care of him.

Worst of all though, he couldn't go to work to try to drown out his sorrows and all of the thoughts of being teased. Work could no longer be a distraction for him. He wanted to work. He wanted to make money to pay his mother back. He wanted something to take his mind off of everything. But one, even walking in there made him think about when Yamaguchi and his friends were there. It made him sick. And two, whenever he went to work and started to perform, he noticed a classmate of his, or just someone from the school, watching out in the crowd and trying not to laugh. Sure, the bouncers would ask them to leave the moment they noticed, but it completely threw off his game. So Saeko had told him to take time off and come back in a few weeks when it had calmed down a little.

Without dancing or working, Tsukishima was really no one. He had nothing. All he could do was sit around his friends' apartment and try to study the pointless topics of his psychology class. There was no point in studying music tech when he was literally living with the teaching assistants, and he could ask them for help with any of it. He had already been ahead in the textbook for psychology and had started the new units without being assigned them. That was just how bored he was with not working or practicing his dance. When his friends weren't home though, he went to go purge anything and everything from his stomach. It was starting to get painful, keeping things up like this. He knew he had to be careful about this. But what was he going to do?

Whenever Sugawara and Oikawa were home, Oikawa coddled him a little too much. It wasn't as if Suga didn't try to stop him, but Suga seemed to feel that Tsukishima needed to be coddled, too, so he let Oikawa get away with it. So whenever Tsukishima noticed that the pair were coming inside, he would disappear into his bedroom to try to hide away from an Oikawa that would eventually come to try to cuddle with him. It never worked, but it did give him a little bit of extra time.

Everything that Oikawa did, he made sure that Tsukki was okay with it. Every meal they made, Oikawa made sure that Tsukishima ate a fair serving and didn't go to immediately purge the nutrients. Tsukishima was miserable staying with them, but he knew it was better than being home. Sure, his mother was home at night and he loved his mother. She would be able to tell that something was wrong. But being with Oikawa and Suga more often than not and not having as many hours where he was alone was better for him right now. He needed to be with someone for the distraction purposes. Also, being home where his mother could pick apart his mood and mask was dangerous, because he might break down and tell her what he did for his money.

Tsukishima looked up from the couch the moment that the front door flew open. He was currently trying to slow down on his psychology assignment to try to drag it out, so he didn't have to think about other things at the moment. It seemed that Oikawa and Suga were about to provide a different type of distraction.

"I just can't work with her!" Oikawa said heatedly as he took off his jacket and he put his bag down, kicking off his shoes at the front door. Suga did the same in a more calm fashion, and he had a look of disapproval on his face right then. "Who does she think she is anyway? She's a prodigy and the conductor loves her, but I'm sorry! I'm not going to change the lighting of the show just because she is distracted by the colors! I don't care if she is the concert master, she only got the seat because she bribed the conductor anyway... How else could she have gotten it? She's a first year!"

There was a sigh from Suga and he shook his head as he approached the couch to sit next to Tsukishima. "Tooru, babe, she's a talented violinist. Even the upperclassmen say so, no matter how begrudgingly they do it. So... maybe she doesn't treat them with respect. She's really good though and deserves that seat. We can change this one little thing for her so she can continue to play well," Suga had said, giving a look to Tsukishima that told him he didn't want to know. Tsukishima liked gossip though, so he wasn't likely to stay out of this conversation.

When Oikawa groaned and threw himself down in the chair, he slouched against his hands, and shook his head. The brunet looked pathetic right then. "I don't care who she is. She can't just... treat people like this. It's disgusting. Hitoka needs to get the conductor and the stage director to tell me to change the lighting before I will. The whole show changes because of that one scene, and the lighting we have is perfect right now. And... oh my lord, the way she even asked me... She wasn't even asking! She _told_ me to change the lighting. It was so rude and obnoxious!" Oikawa said and he groaned again. "I hear she's not so nice to the other people in her life. I hear her talking when we take breaks and she just sounds so... controlling."

The world seemed to stop spinning right then. Hitoka... wasn't that Yachi's name? Why didn't it surprise Tsukishima that she was unbelievably irritating as a concertmaster too? But things became even slower when he remembered who Yachi was dating, and he caused Tsukishima to feel sick. Although, when it involved Yamaguchi, Tsukishima couldn't seem to stay away. Sure, he wanted to forget about Yamaguchi right now, but to hear that Yachi was potentially not so nice to other people in her life, like Yamaguchi, it caused Tsukki to tense. 

"Oikawa, when you were her age, you were just as obnoxious. I almost broke up with you because of it," Suga said and Tsukishima couldn't help but snort right then. He could sincerely imagine Suga wanting to break up with Oikawa due to how obnoxious he was, although Tsukki hasn't seen much of a change in how obnoxious he is. Suga had just learned to deal with it. Or, maybe he was more obnoxious when Tsukishima was back in high school and not spending every waking moment with Oikawa.

Finally, Oikawa groaned once more. Tsukishima wondered if Suga liked that sound, honestly. To Tsukishima, it was irritating. But Suga had to hear it in the bedroom, so Tsukishima gave props to Suga. "I wasn't obnoxious to you though, you just saw how I was when we were out with friends or when I was doing something I loved. She's just obnoxious all over the place. I feel bad for her boyfriend, he seems like a real punching bag and I just want to get him out of that relationship. No one deserves to be around that."

That was when Suga seemed to chuckle a bit. "Do you want to get him out of the relationship to ruin her life? Or to save him?" Suga asked.

"Maybe a little of both," Oikawa said with a shrug.

Taking a breath, Tsukishima studied Oikawa for a moment and he swallowed, trying to imagine Yamaguchi in this terrible situation that he was in. It really did seem bad. Why did he keep putting up with Yachi? Was it because it was the first real girlfriend he had been with? Or was there some other reason? "This... boyfriend... Why does he seem like a punching bag to you?" Tsukishima asked before he looked down to his hands. "Do you know who it is?" Tsukishima asked, wondering if Oikawa knew it was Yamaguchi.

With furrowed brows, Oikawa sat up and straightened up in the chair. "Oh, I don't know who he is. But anyway... He just... she seems to be his keeper. She said how stupid his friends were and she won't let him go hang out with them, or she will force him to go on dates, force him to come study with her and her friends. I can hear her talking on breaks and she just sounds so controlling and very petty."

These were things that Tsukishima wasn't sure he wanted to hear. Yamaguchi was letting himself stay in this abusive relationship, but relationships were supposed to be give and take. So why was he letting her do this to him? This was disturbing information and Tsukishima felt himself get even more nauseous. He had just purged only an hour ago, so there couldn't be anything left in his stomach. "Yeah, she does sound controlling... Make sure you get the stage director and the conductor to tell you to change the lighting before you do, because... You're right, she can't get away with treating people like this. It's just not right," Tsukishima said.

Laughing, Oikawa threw his hands up. "Thank you, Tsukki! See, Koushi? He agrees with me! We shouldn't have to change anything about our production just to make things slightly easier for her. She can learn how to play the part with the given lighting!" Oikawa said before he stood up to go to the kitchen.

With a sigh, Suga stood up from the couch. "Thanks, Tsukki. Thank you so much for telling him that he was right about this... Now I'll never hear the end of this," Suga groaned quietly.

Maybe it was a bad idea to take Oikawa's side in all of this, because he usually took Suga's side, and Suga was usually right. But if he was going to bad-mouth Yachi, Tsukishima would likely agree with anything. The only thing that Tsukishima knew though was that even if he was mad at Yamaguchi, he had to try to talk some sense into the boy about Yachi and make him see that maybe she's not all that she is cracked up to be. He wouldn't try to break them up of course, but he would have to do something. He still cared, as much as he didn't want to care.

Suga followed Oikawa to the kitchen silently and Tsukishima disappeared to his room, taking his psych homework with him. He had some thinking to do about all of this, and he really needed to decide what his next move was going to be before he made it. Regardless of how pissed Tsukishima was at Yamaguchi for letting that video get around of his stripping, he still cared about the boy enough to not let him get pushed around and used like a rag. It was disturbing to even think of Yachi being so cruel to him.

\---

It was the following school morning and Tsukishima woke up with a bit of a groan. He wasn't feeling his best and he knew that if he had to eat, it would only make him feel worse. He wondered if he could sneak out of the apartment and get away with not having breakfast. Would Oikawa let that slide? Wasn't it early enough that Suga and Oikawa weren't awake yet? At least Tsukishima thought it was early enough.

As he slipped out of his bedroom, Tsukishima went to the bathroom to wash his face and clean himself up. He didn't bother with a shower, so he hoped he was clean enough for the day. Unfortunately though, as he slipped out of the bathroom, he saw the kitchen light flip on and Tsukishima froze. He couldn't see Suga or Oikawa. Maybe no one saw him yet?

Slowly, Tsukishima snuck to the front door and he put on his shoes as quietly as he could. He could only hope that he would be able to sneak out without making a sound. The last thing he needed was to be told that he had to eat when he didn't think he could stomach any food right now. He backed into the door, only to be frightened by the knocking at the door and gasping loud enough for whomever in the kitchen to look up. Oikawa was standing in the kitchen with a groggy expression and he blinked at the door. "Tsukki Chan, who's at the door? And where are you going so early?" Oikawa asked as he leaned against the counter. It was really only a half hour early anyway.

Sighing, Tsukishima moved from the door, only for it to open on its own and to reveal Suga, who had come in and he took off his jacket at the door, as well as his running shoes. "Sorry to scare you, Tsukki Kun. I saw you standing there and didn't want to run into you though. That's why I knocked," Suga said as he took a breath. "I went out for a run, just trying to clear my head."

There was tension in Oikawa's shoulders and he tilted his head. "Koushi..." he said quietly. He opened his arms and he frowned. It seemed like the two of them had things to talk about and Oikawa was going to give in at that moment. "I'm sorry, let's talk about this..."

Suga had gone further into the apartment and it seemed like the two of them were too focused on themselves and their own thing to focus on Tsukishima. They had been bickering all weekend, which was kind of annoying for Tsukishima, but he knew that he didn't make it better by siding with Oikawa. So maybe he really could sneak out of the apartment if the two of them were going to talk. Tsukishima grabbed his bag and went out of the apartment quietly and quickly. He was glad that Oikawa wouldn't force him to eat, and he was glad that he didn't have to stick around any longer.

After thinking over the last couple of days, Tsukishima realized he had to do something to help Yamaguchi out of this relationship. There was no reason for Yamaguchi to be going through all of this. He was still mad at Yamaguchi for the video regardless of how many times Yamaguchi said that he wasn't the one that did it, but that didn't mean Tsukki liked watching Yamaguchi get abused in a relationship, even if Yachi wasn't physically hurting him.

To be honest, Tsukishima wasn't sure why Yamaguchi's brothers hadn't stopped her yet and convinced him to break up with her. She mistreated them and tried to create a hole in Yamaguchi's relationship with them. Tsukki supposed that they might have thought that it was none of their business, but Tsukishima didn't care if it was his business or not. All he cared about was that Yamaguchi was getting treated with the respect he deserved and he wasn't being walked all over.

After walking to the school slowly and taking in the fresh air, Tsukishima went to the dance studio building so he could go to his choreography class. He avoided many eyes and so many conversations as he walked down the hall and finally made it to his classroom. He set his stuff down in his desk and he went back outside the classroom to see if he could find Yamaguchi. It would have been wonderful if he could have found Yamaguchi alone so he could talk to his dance partner alone.

That was what he decided he would do. Tsukishima would talk to Yamaguchi and try to talk to him about what was going on with Yachi. He needed to see why he was letting her get away with all of this, because it hurt Tsukishima to know that Yamaguchi was just letting his happen. Maybe it had to do with how he was treated at a young age. Maybe it had nothing to do with that at all. All Tsukishima knew was that he couldn't just stand by and watch Yamaguchi get treated like this. It was disturbing.

Unfortunately, the universe didn't like to be kind to Tsukishima. He had not had luck with the universe so far, so why would he start having luck now? He spotted Yamaguchi walking slowly behind Yachi and her friends, who were laughing and Yamaguchi didn't seem to be listening to their conversation. He was just walking behind them distractedly, and Yamaguchi was carrying Yachi's violin, her drink and her binders, as well as one of her friends' bags, and his own bag while Yachi only had her bag on her shoulders that she was carrying.

Stepping outside to the courtyard where they were walking, Tsukishima cleared his throat and waited for Yamaguchi to look up before he waved him over. He was close enough that Yamaguchi would hopefully hear him, but not close enough that they couldn't get some privacy. Yamaguchi had looked up and Tsukishima motioned for him to come closer. Tsukishima wished he didn't have to hear the next part, but he heard it of course, and Tsukishima only looked away when he did. "Hey babe, my dance partner wants to see me. Can I go talk to him? I can still walk with you to class after," Yamaguchi had said.

Tsukishima looked back up and caught onto Yachi's eyes. Tsukishima really just did not like this girl, not at all. Their eyes were having a conversation, a battle, and the battle seemed to be about Yamaguchi. Tsukki wasn't backing down. "Oh, uh... yeah, sure, go talk to the pole slut and come back when you're done, and don't take too long," Yachi said. That was the part that Tsukki wished he hadn't heard, but he had anyway. Yamaguchi tensed up when she used the term 'pole slut' and he shook his head but he set her instrument case down before he jogged over to chat with Tsukishima.

"Hey, this couldn't wait until class? What's up?" Yamaguchi asked, seeming to be very surprised that he was even talking with Tsukishima right then. It probably was odd, because Tsukishima had been avoiding and ignoring Yamaguchi for quite some time. But now Tsukki wanted to talk to him.

Taking a breath and looking directly at Yamaguchi, he shook his head slowly. "No, it really couldn't wait. I'm sorry, Yams. So I'm still mad and I don't forgive what happened, even if you said you didn't do it. But... I can't stand watching you get treated like this..." Tsukishima said quietly.

That was when Yamaguchi made a face and adjusted all of the stuff he was holding onto so he could stand more comfortably. "Get treated like what?" Yamaguchi asked before he looked towards Yachi and her friends, who were actually approaching them slowly. Yachi had picked up her violin. "I'm fine, I don't know why you think I'm being treated poorly," Yamaguchi said.

Tsukishima sighed. "She treats you like garbage and walks all over you, Yams. I'm talking about your girlfriend. Why haven't you talked to her about this yet? You don't deserve to be walked all over like this..." Tsukishima let out a gentle sigh.

Unfortunately, Yamaguchi wouldn't get to get in another word. Yachi shoved her violin case back into Yamaguchi's arms and he stumbled a bit, but didn't let it fall.

"Well there he is! The video star! How do you do it, exactly? Please tell me, please enlighten me about this process," Yachi said and she let out a giggle. Her friends started to laugh too and they shook their head. "It's just _shameful_ what you do for a buck. I don't get it," Yachi said and she laughed again, throwing her hair to one side. She looked very devilish right then and Tsukishima was wondering how Yamaguchi couldn't see it.

Tsukishima stopped, blinking at Yachi for a moment before he turned his attention back to Yamaguchi, who was just staring at his girlfriend. There was a glare in his eyes and Tsukishima had a feeling that he was finally going to speak up. It was rather sad that Tadashi was going to speak up for Kei, but if this was what it took for him to stand up to his girlfriend, he would take it. He would rather Yamaguchi stood up for himself, but at least he was starting to see the behavior. "It's not shameful at all, Yachi. He does what he has to do to get by. It's not like he's prostituting himself, it's just a strip club," Yamaguchi said.

There was a flicker in Yachi's eyes and it took a few seconds too long for it to disappear before she hid it behind her fake, innocent expression. Hopefully, Yamaguchi saw that look before it was gone. "Yamaguchi, he takes his clothes off for money. I can't see the class in that," Yachi said with a bit of a huff.

The other three girls were laughing and trying to pretend like they weren't staring at Tsukishima, but they were and it was making Tsukki start to feel uncomfortable. One of them even mimed a move that was meant to be a jab at him for being a stripper. But he couldn't focus on them when there was an argument breaking out right in front of him. "I can respect him for it because it's what he has to do! I'm sure he wouldn't be doing this if he didn't have to, but he does and hot damn, he's good at it. You should see him compared to some of the other dancers. Sure, they are good, but he just has flexibility and strength that the others don't have!"

A laugh left Yachi's lips and she started to shake her head. The laugh was dark and there was fire behind it, as if she was going to burn Yamaguchi right there on the spot. But Tsukki couldn't just let this happen. He really couldn't allow Yachi to just continue walking all over his dance partner. He was kind of important. "You need to start respecting what he has to say," Tsukishima said as he stared at Yachi, locking his eyes onto her and blocking the other three girls out. "You're a sad excuse of a girlfriend. Everyone deserves respect, and you don't respect anyone."

"Excuse me? I don't need to hear words of advice from a dirty stripper. Of course you are going to defend yourself, and I don't need to hear it. You can go," Yachi said as she narrowed her eyes at Tsukishima before she turned her eyes back to Yamaguchi. But Tsukishima wasn't so easily scared and he wasn't just going to run off now that Yachi was calling him names. "And you, why are you defending him?" she asked to Yamaguchi, who tensed up but was still busy staring at Tsukishima for what he had said.

With a huffing laugh, Tsukishima shook his head. "I'm not even close to the dirtiest stripper out there. There are worse than me. But I wasn't defending the fact that I'm a stripper. I was talking about how you treat him. He doesn't deserve to take that from you. He's a human being, and you need to start treating him like one. Yamaguchi, give her back her stuff. She's going to be late to class," Tsukishima said.

There was hesitation in Yamaguchi right then. He was tense, and he didn't seem to know how to move right then. But eventually, he offered the violin out to Yachi and then her binders and drink. He then looked at the three girls behind Yachi and offered their stuff to them, which they all took, probably because Yachi took all of her stuff back. All three of them looked a little scared to see that someone was actually standing up to their leader. Tsukki thought that was comical. "Yamaguchi... why? I thought you were going to walk us to the orchestra room?" Yachi asked, trying to paint an innocent smile over her face. But there was no way to hide the growing frown over her features. Yachi was very frustrated right then.

"Oh, I..." Yamaguchi looked between Yachi and Tsukishima for a moment, trying to figure out what exactly he should do. Tsukishima had put him in a hard place, and he would admit that. But he kind of had to put Yams into this hard place. "I can, but... I mean, it would be easier if you all had your stuff now and..." Yamaguchi winced when Tsukishima started to sigh and shake his head. "And you didn't have to take it all from me before you walk into class.

For a moment, the world seemed to stop. But then, Tsukishima crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't think Yamaguchi is going to be walking with the four of you any time soon. We have to go to class, or we are going to be late ourselves. You guys should think about going to class soon if you don't want to be late," Tsukishima said. The other three whispered goodbyes to Yachi and excused themselves to go to class. "Oh, and by the way, Yachi, Yamaguchi deserves better than you. Come on, Yamaguchi," Tsukishima said as he turned to start walking to their class.

Right as he started to walk away though, Yachi blurted out a laugh and she adjusted her stuff in her hands. "What, like a damned pole dancer? A stripper is going to be better for him?" Yachi asked.

It seemed as though she was implying that Tsukishima wanted to be with Yamaguchi. He wasn't opposed to the idea and for a few moments, Tsukishima thought he had wanted this. But all of this was really just to simply get Yachi away from Yamaguchi so he could live his life and not be controlled by someone. He was looking out for Yamaguchi's best interests right then, but Yachi could think what she wanted to think. Tsukishima didn't even intend on talking to Yachi, but it happened because she couldn't mind her own business and had to interfere in everything that Yamaguchi did.

Stopping and taking a breath, Tsukishima turned his head towards Yachi and rose an eyebrow. "Well, just better than you anyway. And because I'm a stripper, at least you know I would respect him, because clearly you think I don't have any self-respect," Tsukishima said. He was going to wait because he was going make sure she was completely done.

The tension was so high in the air right now and the two stared at one another for quite some time. Long enough that Tsukishima had to turn back around so he wasn't bending his neck too far for too long. "You know, you're not so good," Yachi said as he threw her head back and let out a huff. "The others actually really weren't bad at all and you seemed a bit distracted if you ask me," she said. "Maybe you have that flexibility, but you didn't show how fluid you could be. You just had the crowd on your mind."

Both Yamaguchi and Tsukishima froze for a moment, and they slowly turned to look at each other before Yamaguchi turned his head back to Yachi for a moment. "How... do you know how the other strippers were?" Yamaguchi asked. Tsukishima wanted to know the same thing. Was there another video circulating that he didn't know about?

A snort was released from Yachi's mouth and she shook her head gently. "How? Isn't it obvious?" she asked as she stood up a bit taller and she cocked her head to the side, throwing her blonde hair over her shoulder. It seemed like she wanted it to be a little more obvious than it really was. The two of them had ideas, but they weren't going to make accusations right this second.

"Yachi... how do you know how the other dancers dance...? You only got to see one of Tsukki's routines in the video. That's it. No one else. Unless there's something you know that we don't..." Yamaguchi said tentatively, wondering where exactly this was all going. He had a bad feeling about this, and so did Tsukishima. They were going to get to the bottom of this though. Tsukishima knew he didn't like Yachi from the start. This was just proving that he had a reason to not like her from the start and giving more of a reason to hate her.

"Oh, that's right. You don't know. No one knows. So I'll just say it... _I'm the one that took the video._ That's how I know how the other dancers were. Sure, your moves were good, but you kept watching the crowd too much and you wanted to pay more attention to them than to what you were doing, so it looked very amateurish," Yachi said with a bit of a cocky attitude and a light laugh after. "Just because you work hard and you're good at what you do, doesn't mean you're still not a dirty whore and it doesn't mean you still don't want to sleep with my boyfriend. Well, I'll tell you something. _You can't have him. He's mine._ " The last like Yachi had said was very vicious and very controlling. For a brief second, it made Tsukishima feel bad and not focus on what was just revealed. But he came back to the admission seconds later.

Taking a moment to gather everything that Yachi had said, Tsukishima stared ahead into the nothing of the world around him. His chest started to tighten and he started to see only white. He was coming to a realization about the world that he never wanted to come to. Everything and everyone was the enemy and he only had himself to protect, so he couldn't let anyone else in.

Taking a few steps back, there was a harsh ringing in his ears before he turned around and went back towards the school, not bothering to listen to the apologies and the desperate pleas that Yamaguchi was yelling out. He went straight back into his classroom and he picked up his bag. The class had already started and he knew that he would get in trouble for this, but he couldn't make it through today. He didn't know that he would be able to make it through the rest of the semester after this. The teacher stopped class for a moment and the class all had their eyes on Tsukishima, but he wasn't staying. He left the moment he had all of his things.

As Tsukishima was walking out of the building, Yamaguchi was walking in. Tsukishima didn't think he could look at him, but he managed a glance and he noticed the red-rimmed eyes that Yamaguchi had possessed right then, and he was clearly more emotional than Tsukishima had ever seen him. But the world was buzzing, everything was loud and everything was bright and nothing was okay, so Tsukishima wasn't sure that he could stay to find out if Yamaguchi was okay. He had no idea what had happened with Yachi, he had no idea about anything right now. He just knew that he couldn't stay.

Honestly, Yamaguchi would probably forgive Tsukishima for not staying after what he had found out. Kei wasn't going to stick around and be completely unfocused all day. He didn't need to be in anyone's way today or get anyone hurt by being wrapped up in his own thoughts. Hopefully, Yamaguchi could clear things up with their choreography teacher, because Tsukishima couldn't go back there. Tsukishima couldn't go back to Oikawa's and Suga's place either. He was shaking and he didn't trust anyone right now. He would trust his family other than his dad, but that was it.

So he went home. It was a quiet house and he was thankful for that. He went straight to the bathroom and he stared at the toilet for only a moment before he leaned over it and started to empty the bile that was inside of him, and whatever he had in his stomach from his last night's dinner that Oikawa had forced Tsukishima to eat.

Nothing about the world was right at the moment. Was it ever though? Nothing about the world was sound and everything was falling apart. Tsukishima found out that Yachi was the one that recorded the video. How did she even get in? How did someone not catch her? The club had to amp up their security on making sure no one had their phone out while they were inside. They couldn't completely ban phones, but they could ask people to not have them out. People weren't even allowed to text now if they could see the stage or if a stripper was walking around them. They had to go to the bathroom or to one of the wings or side rooms. It had gotten that bad.

Once Tsukishima was finished emptying himself, he felt the harsh tears start to prick in his eyes. They stung and told him that he was human, which he sometimes needed to be reminded of. All he wanted to do was to tell Yachi off for treating Yamaguchi like she was. Actually, he didn't intend on talking to Yachi at all, but now the mystery of the video was solved.

Now, to put his life back together. That was going to be Tsukishima's next task. It wasn't going to be easy and Tsukishima wasn't sure that he would be able to manage it by himself.

It was a good thing he had Oikawa and Suga.

There was a sound at the door and Tsukishima flushed the toilet, a little confused about who it could be. He rinsed out his mouth before he went to go check the door.

It was his brother. Tsukishima also had his brother to help him put his life back together, and he had never appreciated his brother coming home so much, before right then.


End file.
